How Secure Are Your Internet Gateways?

Written by taygundogan | Published 2020/04/05
Tech Story Tags: technology | security | privacy | bitcoin | latest-tech-stories | working-from-home | lockdowns | security-of-data

TLDR We are living as if a post-apocalyptic world like Mad Max. We expected Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies’ prices to rise, however, Bitcoin was prepared for an economic crisis, not a pandemic. We are forced to use applications more than ever. Even Zoom stocks have doubled after the coronavirus. Even if the Bitcoin itself has a secure and Invictus algorithm, exchanges are still in danger and they sometimes get hacked. You should try to choose decentralized as much as you can when using or buying them.via the TL;DR App

Due to the coronavirus, we are "literally" in lockdown in our homes. We work, spend, talk, communicate and even make love over the internet; but we haven’t thought like that when we were talking about the "future" and we are living as if a post-apocalyptic world like Mad Max.

And these incidents drive us to stay at home and make us less social. We are forced to use applications more than ever. Even Zoom stocks have doubled after the coronavirus.
Because all of the business platforms have changed to homeworking and meeting online, Zoom has no strong competitor at this time. Maybe Skype, but some users report that Skype is not working properly when it's needed.
What about money? Actually, we expected Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies’ prices to rise, however, Bitcoin was prepared for an economic crisis, not a pandemic. That's why we haven’t seen significant increases on Bitcoin and they use exchanges to do it.
But on the other hand, Amazon and other e-commerce websites have doubled their orders. Because people started to buy and sell foods and other stuff online.
Even if the Bitcoin price didn't react properly, it stays stable right now but most of the people still are seeking for the new instrument tools like Bitcoin and creating cryptocurrency wallets.
And of course, Love and Sex. We all know an application called Tinder, it's very popular worldwide. Because of the lockdown, everyone wants to make love or meet new people but they can't. They need to do with online services and applications.

But Are They Really Safe?

Bitcoin Exchanges: Even if the Bitcoin itself has a secure and Invictus algorithm, exchanges are still in danger and they sometimes get hacked. Binance, the best exchange according to the worldwide volume has faced that problem a lot of times. And they were mentioned in Nepotism in Turkey operations as well.
And one year go Binance got hacked about 40 million dollars worth cryptocurrency.  And about 3 months ago, Binance closed trading services and suddenly called it an "Unscheduled Maintenance". This indecent damaged exchange’s reputation and a lot of traders and investors left the platform after that.
Besides, "Binance is not under our Jurisdiction, says Malta Regulator" but they've claimed that they have a base in Malta before. After that leak, Binance CEO CZ tries to explain the situation but nobody really believed him.
And as an investor, I left Binance and moved my funds to the other exchanges which I believe to be safe. I can’t tell anyone which exchange to use but if you're a Binance user, take these security problems seriously.
Zoom Conference Application: After the coronavirus pandemic, both public and private sectors, even the governments started to use online conferences.
Zoom, the audio and video call conference application did a great job to spread to the world and became the best one among the strong competitors like Skype.
But according to the Verge's article, Zoom is claimed to leak user data and sell them to Facebook.
Zoom is now facing a huge privacy and security backlash as security experts, privacy advocates, lawmakers, and even the FBI warn that Zoom’s default settings aren’t secure enough.
It seems that the most successful and popular application has serious problems at this moment and it disappointed its users.
If you're running a high privacy business, you should consider this news and use other alternatives if you can.
Tinder Love Making Application: Due to lockdown, everyone stays at their home but our libido does not. But when you register to platforms like Tinder or OkCupid, you give your all emotional and personal data to the service provider, even you give your debit/credit card data.
But according to the research, it's not as safe as you think. Because centralized data storages are keeping so much information, you can become the target of the hackers and not only your financial data but also your emotional data can be in danger.
There are no reported security issues on Tinder right now but you should be careful when you're taking your steps on these kinds of platforms.

CONCLUSION

Staying at home does not always give you maximum security. It can protect you from coronavirus but not the internet. You should try to choose decentralized platforms as much as you can when using or buying them.
Your health is important but your security and privacy are essential to be anonymous on the internet.
Keep safe and try to stay away from the virus.

Written by taygundogan | "Long Bitcoin, Short The Banks" @nuxxorcoin
Published by HackerNoon on 2020/04/05