How do you know if a cryptocurrency exchange practices good cybersecurity?
Can you feel confident that the crypto exchange you use understands cybersecurity basics as they handle millions in Bitcoin or other digital currency transactions?
These are crucial questions because the equivalent or more than $1 billion in digital currency has been hacked and stolen since 2014.
Now, we've finally come across a resource for this that we wanted to pass along for cryptocurrency investors.
It's called the Top 100 Crypto Exchanges according to the CER cybersecurity score (CSS).
The report ranks crypto exchanges based on cybersecurity testing. Here is the opening statement from the report:
"Obviously, cybersecurity is the most fundamental thing that must be addressed to the full extent by any exchange before commencing its operations: exchanges must take responsibility for users’ money and personal data.
Considering the immature nature of the crypto industry, the CER and Hacken professionals evaluated the current cybersecurity conditions of the Top 100 crypto exchanges. In doing so, we seek to show the community which exchanges are sustainable and safe for using, and which are not."
You can read the complete crypto exchange cybersecurity rankings here, and as a preview, here are the four highest-ranked crypto exchanges based on cybersecurity:
- Kraken
- Coinbase Pro
- Binance
- BitMex
How did these sites land at the top of the list for cybersecurity? There are a number of factors the report lays out. However, we noticed security details when we visited each site. Kraken says it has a bug bounty program and asks researchers for help:
"Although our team of experts has made every effort to squash all the bugs in our systems, there's always the chance that we might have missed one posing a significant vulnerability. If you discover a bug, we appreciate your cooperation in responsibly investigating and reporting it to us so that we can address it as soon as possible. For significant bugs, we offer reward and recognition on our Wall of Fame"
And at BitMex, the site talks up its bug bounty program as well, and also lists a number of security enhancing efforts it makes:
"BitMEX runs a first-of-its-kind multisignature deposit and withdrawal scheme. All BitMEX addresses are multisignature and all storage is kept offline. Even in the event of a full system compromise, including web servers, trading engine, and database, there would not be enough keys available to an attacker to steal funds."
It's interesting to see the cryptocurrency industry talking so openly about security, isn't it?
The long-term success of digital currency depends on cybersecurity that investors can trust.
