The leaders of crypto companies strengthen their protection against the backdrop of a growing threat of abductions and extortions, writes RBC Crypto. In companies involved in security, they told the publication about the growth of demand for bodyguards and other protection measures for houses and family members of representatives of the crypto industry.
People who own cryptocurrencies are faced with physical risk, since blockchain technology allows you to instantly transfer means, and the likelihood of their restoration is extremely small. At the same time, experts note that large investments of the industry in the defense of online systems can even strengthen offline risks: hacking cyber protection has become such a difficult task that it is easier for attackers to resort to physical attack.
One of the experts, Jameson Lop, leads a publicly accessible database of physical attacks on cryptocurrency owners around the world. For 2024, 32 cases have been noted in the list, and since the beginning of this year, 23 incidents are already.
The wave of abductions, which covered the industry, led people to the realization that their successful activities related to cryptocurrencies can create very real risks. In addition to bodyguards, security companies offer armored vehicles, assessment of house safety and services for monitoring social networks to confident that customers do not disclose information about their physical location.
The Coinbase Exchange in 2024 spent $ 6.2 million on the protection of General Director Brian Armstrong. According to the publication, this is more than the similar expenses of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and NVIDIA. Circle has allocated $ 800 thousand for the same period for the safety of Jeremy Allaire, and Robinhood broker – $ 1.6 million to guard Vlad Terev.
Coinbase leak
The fears about physical security came to the fore after an attack on Coinbase, since hackers gained access to data that could allow them to identify and track customers with large assets. Coinbase support employees in India bribed them to provide access to the company’s data. The exchange said that the leak affected less than 1% of users. Nevertheless, for several months, criminals had access to customer data, including their names, addresses, personality certificates, transactions history and accounts in accounts.
The report said that the criminals have already used this information to deceive some Coinbase customers and gain access to their accounts or transfer their tokens. Several victims of this leak refused to give an interview, fearing that their security could be at risk due to the mention of their names.
Binance and Kraken exchanges were also subjected to such attacks, the publication reported with reference to people familiar with this issue. But these platforms were able to repel attacks without losing customer data, sources say.
Series of abductions in France
The several most high -profile abductions of people associated with cryptocurrencies occurred this year in Paris. The co -founder of the French manufacturer of Ledger cryptocurns David Bland lost his finger after his girlfriend and his girlfriend were kidnapped in January. The same thing happened in the capital of France with the father of a crypto -founded, whose name is not revealed. In early May, there was also an attempt to abduct the daughter of the head of the Paymium cryptocurrency exchange, which others were able to help.
The attacks became more frequent that the Minister of the Interior of France Bruno Retayio promised to launch an emergency line with the police for representatives of the crypto industry. The elite divisions of the French police will also conduct special briefings and security checks for the heads of cryptocurrency companies and their families.
The report notes that the cryptorrian participants are now expressing concerns about trips to France. According to the representative of the annual crypto conference of ETHCC in Cannes, this year security measures were strengthened. In previous years, the organizers collaborated only with the local police, but this year special forces of law enforcement agencies and private security companies were added to it.
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Source: Cryptocurrency
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