On 15 January 2023, a KOL in the blockchain industry posted a tweet claiming that hackers invaded his computer, resulting in the loss of all digital tokens in his cold wallet.
The concept of a cold wallet may be unfamiliar to those who have not come across it before. A cold wallet is a type of wallet that is not connected to the internet, minimizing the risk of hacking and network threats. It is ideal for storing large amounts of digital currency or for long-term storage. Professional cold wallet devices such as imKey and Ledger are currently in widespread use.
Despite the aforementioned benefits of cold wallets being more secure, this KOL's tokens were still stolen. According to the KOL, the incident occurred when he accidentally clicked on an advertising link while downloading some software from Google, which resulted in the installation of malware and allowed the hackers to infiltrate his computer.
Usually, when you download and open such malicious software, they will scan your computer, look for sensitive information such as mnemonic phrases, and then transmit it to hackers.
Before the hacker attack, this KOL had made an error by transferring the mnemonic phrases of the cold wallet onto a computer that was connected to the internet. When mnemonic phrases are connected to the internet, a cold wallet loses its safety and security features, thus becoming a hot wallet.
Subsequently, the hacker obtained the KOL's wallet mnemonic phrase by means of the internet and malicious software, ultimately stealing the KOL's tokens.
While utilizing a cold wallet to store tokens is widely acknowledged as being one of the most secure storage methods in the industry, having poor security awareness and habits can leave even the most secure tools vulnerable to hacker attacks. As such, what steps can be taken to prevent such incidents?
- It is advised against clicking on search engine ads or links to unfamiliar websites and instead recommended to bookmark frequently used websites to avoid falling prey to phishing scams.
- It is essential not to import the mnemonic phrase or private key of a cold wallet into a networked environment. One of the main advantages of a cold wallet is the offline generation and storage of the private key. Once the private key is imported into a networked environment, the cold wallet becomes a hot wallet, losing the protection of the cold wallet's security measures.
token guard
Scam Alert | SMS scams
Fraudsters have recently been impersonating imToken official staff and contacting users through text messages, claiming that "imToken will suspend the withdrawal function" or "the old version will be shut down soon," and then luring users to visit fake websites and enter their mnemonic phrases, resulting in token loss for the users.
Scam Alert：
- All individuals who contact you through phone or text messages claiming to be from imToken are scammers.
- imToken is a wallet that operates in a decentralized manner, with all user tokens being recorded on the blockchain. The concept of "asset freezing" does not apply to imToken.
- Properly safeguard your mnemonic phrase or private key and do not disclose it to anyone.
- Please bookmark imToken website: https://token.im
Risk Control
In January, imToken marked 478 tokens and 54 addresses as risky and banned 1480 DApp websites.
If you come across any risky tokens or DApps, please report them to us at [email protected] to help more users avoid tokens loss.
End
In addition to choosing the right tool, you need to have some security knowledge to ensure the security of your digital tokens. We recommend that you visit the imToken website https://token.im/ to learn more about security.