How to Store Your Crypto Safely on an Exchange (Hacking Prevention)

Most crypto investors in Korea probably keep their coins on an exchange. But some people lament that they woke up one morning to find their coins gone without their knowledge. Why does this happen?

In this post, we'll show you how to store your coins safely on an exchange, along with the basic, up-to-date security knowledge you absolutely need to follow.

If You Got Drained Without Knowing It... Suspect SIM Hacking

There was an incident in which coins worth as much as KRW 8.5 billion were stolen from the account of the late Kim Jung-ju, founder of Nexon, who passed away this past February. How could something like this happen?

How Were KRW 8.5 Billion in Coins Siphoned from the Late Kim Jung-ju's Account - CoinDesk KoreaIt has belatedly come to light that the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) account of Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju, who passed away last February, was hacked and virtual assets worth KRW 8.5 billion were siphoned off. By illegally cloning the mobile carrier SIM inserted in his phone, personal informawww.coindeskkorea.com ↗

The hackers reportedly illegally cloned the deceased's SIM card and used it to steal personal information from his phone. They carried out the crime for about a week starting in May of this year.

The hackers stole the SIM information, used it to swap the SIM, and then logged into the exchange. After that, they moved the assets on the exchange to their own accounts and cashed them out. They were caught when the exchange found the movement of the deceased's funds suspicious and reported it to the police.

The lesson we need to take from this is that your SIM card can be a far more important, and far more vulnerable, hacking point than you might think.

How to Store Your Crypto Safely on an Exchange

Want to keep your coins safe on an exchange? Please go through the security rules mentioned here carefully.

First, the SIM issue mentioned above. When traveling abroad, many people swap their SIM cards without a second thought so they can use a local phone number. You need to be careful when changing your SIM. If something goes wrong, all the information on your phone could be stolen. The same goes for Korea as well. Swapping your SIM is a lot like swapping your phone's ID card. If you absolutely have to change your SIM, be sure to go to a trusted carrier store in person to do it.

Second, don't use public Wi-Fi. The free Wi-Fi offered at places like Starbucks or on the subway has very weak security. Overseas, there have even been cases where attackers exploited these weaknesses to hack the accounts of real exchange users. If you use it carelessly just because it's free, your login information could be stolen. Don't forget that it's best to trade or transfer only on a secure internet connection.

Beyond that, it's also a good idea to avoid free VPNs and APK files from outside the app stores. And of course, you should steer clear of attachments from unknown sources.

Finally, be sure to enable your exchange's withdrawal whitelist feature. It's a simpler and more powerful feature than you might think. Also, even if it's a bit inconvenient, it's a good idea to add a hardware device such as a YubiKey to your security setup. Especially if you keep your funds on Binance, setting up a whitelist, 2FA, and a YubiKey can make you relatively safer from hacking.

That wraps up our tips for storing your coins safely on an exchange. If you found this post helpful, please share it widely with the crypto investors around you. Thank you.