There are several ways to lose your cryptocurrency and these include both individual and corporate levels. An exchange on which you have stored your coins may be hacked and you lose your funds and this happens more often than necessary especially in the blockchain industry.
The weakest link to security in any fail-safe system is always humans and this risk is doubly so for individuals just trying to keep their crypto safe. To help out, crypto exchange Gemini has a solution. The regulated US-based trading platform has introduced beefed-up security measures allowing its users to secure their coins using physical keys.
In its announcement on Tuesday, the exchange noted that it has partnered with Yubico to support the use of physical security keys when accessing accounts through its mobile application interface. To this end, the exchange has enabled the use of USB and NFC-based devices developed by Yubico to create an additional 2FA security layer for maximum security.
The mobile apps will be able to use the internet to authenticate logins through the USB and NFC devices provided by Yubico. This is in addition to the already implemented security login measures by Gemini including TouchID and Microsoft Hello.
“Hardware security keys provide the strongest level of protection when authenticating to your Gemini account by delivering hardware-backed, cryptographic proof of your identity,” Dave Damato, Gemini’s Chief Security Officer wrote in the release.
“They ensure that only the holder of the physical hardware key can gain access to an associated account, even if an attacker has compromised your password or successfully executed a SIM-swap attack on your mobile device. This mitigates the risk posed by phishing, person-in-the-middle, and replay attacks that rely on stolen passwords or one-time password (OTP) codes.”
For maximum security when logging into your Gemini account, the exchange recommends purchasing at least two hardware keys by Yubikeys one of which will be required for mobile devices and another multi-platform key for use on other interfaces such as TouchID and Microsoft Hello.
The new system of security gets rid of the reliance on the less secure use of third party applications and OTPs for authentication. Ideally, this system works similar to using a paper wallet and ensures your wallet is inaccessible to hackers online who will never have access to your keys unless they do so physically.
“Our security and engineering teams continue to prioritize new security features in order to provide the best and most secure user experience possible. We look forward to sharing more exciting security-focused announcements in the coming months,” Damato concluded.
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