Nasdaq’s automated quotation system in the mid-1970s and online shopping in the mid-1980s were disruptive technologies in finance.And now cryptocurrency, the latest fintech invention, is gaining popularity among consumers, businesses and government agencies.

Although the future of cryptocurrency is is still unclear, its past performance proves that this high-tech financial instrument has very bright prospects. For example, in just two years, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) has risen from $280 in 2015 to $1,000, and on December 17, 2017, it even soared to an astonishing historical high of $19,850.

Of course, this has also attracted the attention of cybercriminals, who have also discovered widespread security vulnerabilities in this rapidly developing market. Next, Domatters compiled five useful tips from the industry leaders, hoping to help cryptocurrency owners protect your financial technology and data assets.

• Do not disclose personal information on public forums

Phone porting is one of the methods commonly used by Internet thieves. Hackers are lurking on various social media, waiting quietly for their prey. When cryptocurrency investors leave sensitive information (such as phone numbers and email addresses) on these platforms to contact other investors, hackers start hunting.

After locking the target, the hacker will call the investor’s mobile phone operator, pretending that the phone has a problem, and transplant the phone number to his mobile device. Then, they can enter the victim’s cryptocurrency trading account, reset their passwords, and then abscond with the money. They can easily steal thousands of dollars in a few minutes.

• Make it difficult for hackers

Dan Romero who is the vice president of cryptocurrency operations of Coinbase offered several suggestions to improve account security.

First, he suggested that you disable SMS account recovery to better protect against phone transplant attacks.

Second, we can use a coin vault to enable two-factor authentication when transferring funds.

Third, it is recommended that you do not discuss cryptocurrencies in public (especially online). After all, anyone may be a hacker who is eyeing your assets.

Fourth, it is best to turn on all available security options provided by the mobile phone operator, such as adding an account password and turning on the “disable migration” option.

Finally, he warned that although cryptocurrency exchanges attach great importance to the security of user assets, they are not banks after all, and they should not be used as banks.

• Don’t put all crypto asset eggs in only one basket

In order to better protect your fintech assets, Internet security expert Sanjay Beri recommends that you disperse your digital financial assets into multiple different exchanges to reduce the investment risk in the event of a cyber attack .

At the same time, he also recommended that investors store their cryptocurrencies offline in cold wallets, which will limit hackers’ access to investor currencies to a certain extent; in daily transactions, it is recommended to use a separate hot wallet. Basically, a hot wallet is like a checking account, and a cold wallet is like a savings account.

• Be cautious when changing currency

Amir Bandeali, chief technology officer and founder of 0x (zero-x), advises investors to use centralized exchanges only when they need to trade frequently. If investors want to trade tokens on platforms such as Ethereum, it is recommended to use decentralized exchanges as much as possible. He explained that the main difference between the two is that decentralized exchanges will not hold users’ cryptocurrencies. Unless the hackers can manage to obtain the user’s private key, they will never have access to the investor’s funds.

•  Don’t forget the most basic security measures

Although it seems reasonable to use the most basic security measures, in fact, many investors have become the prey of hackers because they neglected the most basic security measures. For example, a separate account should be set up for each exchange.

In this way, even if the hacker successfully gains access to the account, he will not have access to other sensitive assets. In addition, investors should also set a strong password for the account and store it in a hard copy form to ensure that only account holders can access the hard copy password list.

Ambitious hackers will tirelessly look for cryptocurrency vulnerabilities. To ensure the safety of this new financial instrument, highly qualified experts are needed in the cryptocurrency market to help investors intercept unauthorized account access

As cryptocurrencies become more popular, the demand for cyber security experts will continue to grow. After all, they can largely prevent continuous hacking attacks.