Crypto Kidnappings Trigger New Wave of Security Measures

A string of kidnappings involving cryptocurrency executives has prompted some unique new security measures.

As CNBC reported Saturday (June 7), among those taking extra precautions is Didi Taihuttu, head of the so-called “Bitcoin Family.” He told the network he overhauled the family’s entire security setup following a string of threats.

According to the report, the Taihuttus have spent years on “the outer edge of crypto ideology,” traveling full-time and remaining completely unbanked.

In the last eight months, Didi Taihuttu said, the family has set aside hardware wallets and adopted a hybrid analog/digital system, using seed phrases encrypted, split and stored either through blockchain-based encryption services or hidden on four continents.

“We have changed everything,” Taihuttu told CNBC. “Even if someone held me at gunpoint, I can’t give them more than what’s on my wallet on my phone. And that’s not a lot.”

The report noted that the family is rethinking its exposure amid a series of attacks involving crypto executives. For example, one of the co-founders of the French wallet firm Ledger and his wife were kidnapped from their home in central France earlier this year in a ransom plot that also targeted another Ledger executive.

And in New York City last month, a 28-year-old tourist from Italy was reportedly abducted and tortured for 17 days by attackers trying to access his bitcoin password. Police say the kidnappers shocked this man with wires, beat him with a gun, and strapped an Apple AirTag around his neck to monitor his movements.

In other crypto security news, PYMNTS wrote recently about the issues facing the industry following the recent hack involving the crypto exchange Coinbase, an incident that the company has said could cost it up to $400 million.

That incident, the report said, highlights a deeper issue: Even if crypto assets themselves are secured, the data surrounding them, like user identities, metadata, and system-level documents, has value that’s often underestimated, especially when it is also pieced together.

“In this case, the breach was the result of a social engineering attack,” Randolph Barr, CISO of Cequence Security, told PYMNTS.

“There are standard approaches to addressing such threats, including least privilege access, separation of duties, and monitoring and alerting on suspicious activities. Behavioral monitoring is another key area, and we will likely hear more about its role in future security solutions and controls.”