Instead of an IPO, it is referred to as an "ICO" or Initial Coin Offering.
Investors buy shares of new cryptocoins instead of shares of stock. And the most in-depth study we've seen on this shows that hackers are making a killing in the market.
EY says about 10% of the coins in the ICO market are being stolen by bad actors. That's a tidy take of $400 million so far.
The most common attack vector? Phishing along with fake ICO websites. Like this:
Unless you're an InfoSec professional who is paranoid about everything, it would be easy to miss the differences between the original webpage on the left and the phishing page on the right.
EY also says, "Project founders focus on attracting investors and security is often not prioritized. Hackers successfully take advantage—the more hyped and large-scale the ICO, the more attractive it is for attacks."
Hackers employ tactics like substituting wallet addresses, stealing funds from wallets, and stealing from the exchanges themselves.
So if you're thinking of investing in an ICO, volatility may not be your only risk.
Hackers are swimming around you in the digital waters, too.
