Crypto is creating huge opportunities for new investors who get involved early. The low cost of entry means that if you hold on and the predictions are right, you could make future gains on your investments today. But with the industry still being so young, there are chances that you could also lose your investments in ways not related to price drops.
Right now, most people are focused on the extreme volatility, the highs and lows, of crypto prices. But while we ride out the storm, this is a perfect time to take a step back and put some of that energy into creating healthy digital hygiene rituals. In the same way that you make time for your personal hygiene habits, with so much of our lives and investments moving to digital, we need to do the same with our personal tech.
Cybercrime generates billions every year and while we may think our lives aren't interesting enough to be on the radar of hackers and criminals, we are all targets. Whether its phishing scams, hacking into your mobile devices, stealing passwords to access your accounts, or even hacking into your at-home devices, the more reliant we are on technology, the more opportunity it creates for cyber criminals.
Investing in crypto means that you are increasing your reliance on tech. You'll buy and sell your tokens either on a computer or on your phone; until you move your assets onto a wallet they will be stored on a crypto exchange and if you opt for a hot wallet, you'll still have a connection to the internet to access your assets. So, in a basic crypto transaction you'll be potentially exposed to cyber risk at multiple points.
Taking these simple steps won't guarantee no likelihood of a loss, but would certainly reduce the chances significantly, making you a less attractive target for cyber criminals.
Here are a few things everyone who owns digital assets should do:
1. Install the latest updates on your computers, phones & antivirus software
Better still, set up automatic updates, so whether you remember or not, your device will install the latest updates for you once they are available.
2. Don't rely on a password alone
With so many passwords to remember, we are likely to keep them as simple as possible to avoid forgetting. Did you know...one of the most common password choices is still 1234. (Geeze, why!) Setting up multi-factor authentication (2FA) when you are signing into your apps and online accounts adds an extra level of security. 2FA means your device requires at least 2 forms of identification to sign in. So, in addition to your username and password 2FA will send a separate code to another device you own, such as your cell phone, which you type in as part of the log in process. 2FA adds an extra level of security because it's unlikely that someone trying to steal your online data will also have access to completely separate digital device you own.
You could also use a 3rd party authenticator App, such as Google Authenticator, KeePass, LastPass, Microsoft Authenticator, YubiKey, which randomly generate and constantly refresh new one-time codes for additional login security.
3. Avoid using free public WiFi
If you can, but particularly when it comes to your crypto accounts. Unlike your home WiFi which almost always requires you to set up a password, public WiFi is very often unsecured and open to anyone. If you need to rely on public WiFi, you should consider investing in a VPN (Virtual Private Network). VPNs such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN, SurfShark are privacy tools that encrypt all your online activities, keeping you more anonymous and less likely to be tracked online. In a few simple steps your device is secured by an encrypted connection even if you are using public WiFi. (VPN source credit: Tech Radar)
4. Don't click on email or SMS links that you don't know or trust
This is still a popular technique used by cyber criminals to place malware on your device and steal your data. If you are unsure about the link, contact the sender using their official website, or telephone number and verify that they actually sent you the message before you click on the link. Be very wary of notifications telling you that you've earned additional crypto, the majority of these are fake.
5. Set a strong password on your devices
If you download apps onto your phone or computer, it is possible that the app you are using doesn't shut down once you leave the app. So, if someone gets access to your phone and your crypto app hasn't logged you out, with no password on your device, they have easy access to your active apps and could potentially do anything with that data.
While taking these steps doesn't guarantee that nothing will go wrong, it's a great start to protecting your digital assets and the devices you use. There is still a significant amount of responsibility on the users of tech to protect themselves, their data and their digital assets, so until that changes and there are better ways of protecting users, having a digital hygiene routine in place will give you an upper hand against threats to your assets.
In addition to these digital hygiene tips, if you have not done so already, you should certainly invest in a crypto wallet. Moving your assets from the crypto exchange to a wallet that you own ensures that if the crypto platform is hacked, your assets will be stored away from that risk and under your control.