- More than 35% of MetaMask wallet users haven’t backed up their wallet seed phrases, claims Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano.
- Human error remains the leading cause of crypto hacks and losses, with examples such as the Bybit hack.
- Best security practices include keeping seed phrases in private physical locations, avoiding digital backups, and ensuring password hygiene.
More Than 35% MetaMask Users Don’t Back Up
More than 35% of crypto wallets on MetaMask don’t back up their wallets, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
MetaMask offers a 12- to 24-word wallet seed phrase, which is a common-language phrase that must be kept in a secure physical location. Otherwise, if these words are lost, anyone who accesses them can access your wallet funds.
According to Arkham, hackers usually compromise a PC to access the private keys stored on it. Once they gain access via traditional methods such as keyloggers, malware, spyware, or phishing tools, they can drain the wallet of funds.
Leading Causes of Crypto Loss
Human error remains the largest cause of loss in crypto. The largest exchange hack, Bybit, where $1.5 billion was lost to hackers. Another hack was the draining of Drift Protocol, in which the exchange lost $285 million due to human error caused by social engineering.
How to Secure Crypto Wallets?
Crypto wallets are rather easy to secure when users follow the best practices.
- Always keep your seed places backed up in at least two physical locations. These should not be easily accessible to others.
- Ensure that no seed phrases are stored on any electronic device, such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, or any other device connected to the Internet. There are a ton of traditional methods, such as malware, spyware, keyloggers, and phishing tools, which can easily steal your seed phrases.
- You should never share your seed phrases with anyone, no matter who they claim to be. Hackers impersonate official wallet company technicians to ask you to give them seed phrases in return for better security, higher earning options, or to show you the fear of losing your wallet.
- Further, to ensure that no sophisticated hacker has ever accessed, or can access, your wallet. You should change it at least once a year.
Disclaimer: BFM Times acts as a source of information for knowledge purposes and does not claim to be a financial advisor. Kindly consult your financial advisor before investing.
