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Bitcoiners Using VPNs Beware: NordVPN Confirms it Has Been Hacked

George Georgiev Oct 22, 2019 10:11

One of the more popular VPN service providers, NordVPN, has confirmed that there has been a breach in its security. While the company maintains a “zero logs” policy, the event raises concerns that some of its user data might have been jeopardized. Since many cryptocurrency users utilize NordVPN, it’s perhaps worth taking additional care following the breach.

NordVPN Confirms Security Breach

NordVPN, a well-known VPN service provider, has confirmed that it experienced a security breach.

This admission comes after rumors surfaced that NordVPN had an expired internal private key exposed. Apparently, this allowed the attackers to spin out their own servers imitating NordVPN.

According to its website, NordVPN maintains a “zero logs” policy. This means that they don’t track, collect, or share users’ private information. However, this provides little reassurance, given that the company has suffered a breach. Back in March 2018, one of the company’s rented centers in Finland was accessed by an attacker, and that center had been active for over a month.

The company is reassuring users that the expired private key couldn’t have been used to decrypt VPN traffic on any of its other servers. Interestingly enough, the company found out about the breach “a few months ago” but didn’t disclose anything until now in order to be “100% sure that each component within our infrastructure is secure.”

Should Cryptocurrency Users be Concerned?

If the VPN traffic on any of NordVPN’s servers was decrypted by an attacker, there’s little that users can do after the fact. However, the company claims that this was not the case. It’s also worth noting that a lot of people use VPN services in order to access cryptocurrency exchanges in countries where trading is generally forbidden. Moreover, a lot of users take advantage of such services to protect their anonymity.

Nevertheless, when it comes to dealing with cryptocurrencies, it is absolutely imperative to do everything you can to guarantee your own security.

Never keep large amounts of cryptocurrencies in hot wallets, and make sure to store funds safely in cold storage. In addition, it’s advisable to take a look at these must-have tips for securing your crypto wallet.

 

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George Georgiev

Georgi Georgiev is CryptoPotato's editor-in-chief and seasoned writer with over four years of experience writing about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Georgi's passion for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies bloomed in late 2016 and he hasn't looked back since. Crypto’s technological and economic implications are what interest him most, and he has one eye turned to the market whenever he’s not sleeping. Contact George: LinkedIn

Tags: Hacking