According to Positive Technologies, the number of attacks on the crypto exchange has doubled in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the first quarter of the year.

Methods of cryptocurrency theft are becoming more and more diverse: installing malware, using "zero day vulnerabilities" (unresolved vulnerabilities and malware, against which protection mechanisms have not yet been developed), stealing passwords of administrators with the help of social engineering, etc.

Quite frankly, the main reasons for the vulnerability of crypto-instruments are two: the lack of security standards and a frivolous attitude toward this issue.

The most unpleasant way of stealing crypto is to use stolen API keys to convert funds into fiat money. An attacker buys a large volume of illiquid and little capitalized cryptocurrency from his own account. Then, using a large number of stolen keys from wallets, he buys it from himself at an overpriced worth for real or more liquid crypto. As a result, the offender withdraws funds into the currency, and the owners of cracked crypts remain with unnecessary and worthless tokens on the accounts.

Industry experts believe that concern for data security will become a driver of increased competition among crypto exchanges in the very near future.