By now, we're sure everyone has read the news about Chinese bitcoin exchange BitFinex being hacked for more than $65 million worth of Bitcoin. While the investigation is just beginning and it may be months before details of how the attack occurred are known, we felt it important to discuss how our members can take added security measures to protect themselves against cybercrime.
First, let me start off by informing everyone that Uphold is not associated with the BitFinex exchange, so we can assure you that your bitcoin has not been compromised or is any way accessible via the recent hack. On top of our world-class security measures, Uphold has designed its systems to empower our members to also take action to further protect their accounts and most importantly the value placed in their wallet. By enabling two factor authentication, members have control over who accesses their account and when. This prevents anyone, even internal staff, from performing any unauthorized activity within accounts.
Learn more about Authy here.
In a world where convenience is king and user experience is everything, protecting your personal data in the digital age can often be overlooked. We are frequently asked after a data breach “…why weren’t there additional steps to protect the consumer?” This question is not a simple one to answer, but the most important takeaway is that protecting the consumer is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone involved must partake in safe security practices, from company who holds the data, all the vendors supporting a platform or networks that connect into a system, such as software manufacturers, even telcom companies. And while they all definitely have a federal (and moral) obligation hold their security to the highest degree, the wider community must also continue to emphasize that security has to be the consumer’s number one priority as well. A quick look on at any computer or mobile device today will reveal a myriad of spyware, malware, adware and viruses. These malicious pieces of software are designed to steal your login information, bank accounts, your personal data, your photos, your documents, your life in a digital world.
The best way to defend against such malicious tools is to ensure that you use multifactor authentication for all of your logon accounts online. This ensures that a bad actor cannot simply utilize your password they can steal from your machine, but requires them to have a device that you have to input a short one-time use code in addition to your user ID and password, making it extremely difficult for a hacker to take over your account or data.
We encourage all our members to sign-up for Authy two factor authentication today — learn how to download and get started today.
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