Blockchain technology has grown in popularity over the last couple of years so much that even small businesses are starting to rely on it for monetary transactions. The reasons behind this rapid growth in popularity are very clear. Due to its decentralized nature, blockchain provides faster and cheaper transactions compared to the traditional banking systems.
Moreover, blockchain is considered a more secure path to transferring money online compared to common online transactions. The reason behind this is that blockchain is a distributed ledger, which means all of its data is distributed across multiple servers rather than one centralized server. Its digital ledger of transactions is public and thus completely transparent, which makes distributed trust possible.
This allows blockchain to remove the single-point-of-failure in a monetary transaction and thus allow devices to protect themselves by controlling the nodes within a given network. That way, devices can quarantine any nodes that are behaving unusually and displaying potential risks.
Blockchain technology is a complex topic that takes time and knowledge to understand. However, the main question we want to look at today is whether blockchain-based cryptocurrencies are safe?
Where There Might Be a Risk
Experts have proven in multiple ways that blockchains and their altcoins are relatively safe. However, there is one point of transaction that can expose users to a certain amount of risks. Namely, regardless of how secure a blockchain transaction can be, each investor has to first purchase the cryptocurrency to be able to trade it.
This is the point where hackers can jump in and take advantage of poor security systems. To purchase any cryptocurrency, users have to connect their bank accounts and insert credit card information at some point. It is here where the main security risk hides when it comes to crypto trading and blockchain security.
If this connection gets hacked, the user can face serious consequences from stolen data to financial loss. With over 1 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the first quarter of 2019, it is not difficult to imagine how your crypto investment could come across a security incident.
It is not a secret that hackers all around the world are constantly looking for ways and new methods to get their hands on valuable and profitable data. Intercepting monetary transactions is their safest bet to making a decent amount of profit without putting too much effort into the task.
Therefore, there is no doubt that hackers will continue to exploit this weak point between the crypto world and the traditional online payment options. Even though blockchain can’t help you if your initial transaction gets intercepted, there are several things you can do to prevent this incident!
Conclusion
Securing your online browser and the device will go a long way if you opt for the right safety measures. The best way to protect your day to day monetary transactions is to use a virtual private network and thus encrypt all traffic traveling to and from the device. Using a VPN is fairly simple, meaning you don’t need any prior experience to understand it.
All you need to do is find a reliable VPN service provider, download their application and activate it each time you are connecting to the internet. It is recommended to use a VPN as often as possible, especially when connecting to public and unprotected networks.
Overall, additional safety measures listed in the NIST cybersecurity framework will help you reduce the chances of becoming the next cybersecurity victim. When it comes to blockchain, it is confirmed that crypto transactions are relatively safe, except for the initial one where a bank account has to be involved.
714-333-9620