Real-Life Crypto Hack Story: Lessons Learned from a Mobile Phone Hack
How secure is your mobile phone against hacks?
What would be the consequences if someone manages to break into it or even clone it?
This video is based on a real-life story.
About how a crypto-enthusiast and successful crypto investor with nearly a decade of experience, found himself facing a frustrating and costly hack.
His mobile phone was compromised and he lost a significant part of his crypto portfolio.
Please, have a look and reflect if you could find yourself in the same situation:
Learn and Rebuild
These are some of the measures that Mark has taken to protect his mobile phone from being hacked again:
1.- Enable auto-lock for all his financial apps: Mark realized that auto-lock was not enabled for some of his financial and email apps. If his mobile phone was stolen while unlocked, this could leave much sensitive data and applications fully exposed.
2.- Enable both passcode and fingerprint access to his mobile devices: Using only a passcode for accessing his mobile phone and mobile phone applications was a mistake. Mark starts suspecting that maybe someone could have seen him using his passcode and copied the number. And with his passcode and direct access to his mobile, maybe the hacker got the chance to clone his mobile phone. From now on, Mark will use a combination of both fingerprint access and passcode to access his mobile phone and mobile applications.
3.- Enable Additional Authentication Layers: Instead of relying solely on SIM or email two-factor authentication (2 F A), Mark has decided now to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) in all his financial apps, which requires multiple methods of verification before granting access. This could involve combining something he knows (password), something he has (physical token), and something he is (biometric verification) to ensure a higher level of security.
4.- Frequent Password Changes: Regularly changing passwords for critical accounts, especially those associated with financial platforms, could have minimized the risk of unauthorized access. While very convenient, keeping many of his usernames and passwords stored in his mobile phone was not a very smart idea. Also, if the hacker had his passcode and access to his device, he could have had access to all his account's usernames and passwords.
5.- Education and Stay Informed: Mark recognized that keeping himself informed about the latest cybersecurity threats and best practices is crucial. Engaging in ongoing education and staying vigilant against evolving threats better prepares him to prevent and respond to potential security incidents.
6.- Emergency Response Plan: Mark realized that having a clear plan of action in case of a security breach could minimize panic and reduce response time.
Education and Stay Informed
At Crypto Safety First we know about many similar stories and how they could have been prevented by just having more knowledge about crypto threats. Or by following good safety and security practices.
We hope that the content we create can help our fellow digital crypto enthusiast keep their digital and crypto assets safe from hacks, scams, and accidents.