Blockchain technology represents one of the safest methods to store data. However, hackers are also trying to keep track of the most recent improvements related to cybersecurity. While there are no known cases where someone managed to hack someone’s e-wallet, there were some issues related to online exchanges where people are storing and converting cryptocurrencies. Some of the most serious cases are a cyber-attack on Nice Hash in 2017, with over $60 million stolen. Bitpoint theft in 2018, which lost near $30 million in theft, and the biggest case, Mt. Gox, where hackers managed to steal around $450 million worth of Bitcoin.
On the other hand, developers are constantly improving security systems and trying to find potential flaws that could lead to hacker attacks. Nevertheless, the safest method to store your digital currencies is to keep them on some off-line e-wallet. Also, you should avoid storing a bigger amount of crypto on online exchanges. Instead of that, upload only the amount you want to convert. Since trading with cryptocurrencies is a very popular option in recent years, it is not a surprise that there are so many Android and iOS apps available for that process. However, the main question is related to their security and the possibility to lose your funds due to malware or steal old data. The best way is to choose only well-known cryptocurrency apps. You can read more about that topic on androidheadlines.com. Furthermore, we are going to analyze more about the security of Android apps for cryptocurrency exchanges.
Testing Results
There was a big research project related to the security of Android cryptocurrency apps that divided apps into three groups by the number of downloads. The first group is apps with a maximum of 100,000 downloads, the second one with below 500,000, and the third one with the most popular choices and over 500,000 downloads. According to this research and testing, those apps from the first group had poor performances and a near 90% chance to get their communication intercepted. Over 60% of them have issues with sensitive data, while 80% are not using any sort of encryption.
The group related to apps with over 500,000 downloads showed much better stability and invulnerability, with under 40% cases of the intercepted communication and around 30% of apps that are not using encryption for passwords and other sensitive data. Also, the common issue for most of these apps is that they are using old versions of encryption and lack protection. Many other types of research prove how over 90% of cryptocurrency apps for Android could have issues with security.
How to Check Whether Android App is Safe?
Since trading with cryptocurrencies over a smartphone is quite convenient, many people choose to install any app without checking its levels of security. However, that could lead to big issues and loss of private data and funds. Also, there are different types of apps that you can use for trading, storing, tracking values, checking the news, and more. You should know that there are thousands of apps approved on the Google Play Store, but there is no guarantee that all of them are safe. The best way to check security is to research on the internet and look for reviews and experiences of other people. Also, you can easily check comments on the page where you are downloading the app, and if there are too many negative comments and low rates, you should avoid it. Moreover, you have to pay attention to the version since there is a possibility that someone is using the same name for the app like some popular exchange.
Great Rise of Suspicious Apps
With the rise of the popularity of cryptocurrencies, there is also an increase in people and companies who wants to become a part of this industry. However, exchanges that don’t have so many experiences in providing clients with proper security might face all sorts of issues and great losses. On the other hand, some people want to take advantage of people with low knowledge of security measures when being online by introducing malware apps that could steal data and funds. In that matter, always check the owner of the app before you start using it. When you are choosing platforms from well-known exchanges, chances for any sort of issues are much lower.
Developers Should Continue with Improvements
As we already said, hackers are trying to follow all of the recent improvements related to online platforms and find a potential way of stealing valuable information. Therefore, developers should focus more on creating a better solution to prevent any possibility of such problems. All of these apps require to share personal and sensitive data like a bank account, codes of e-wallet, and other data.
Conclusion
Trading with cryptocurrencies represents an excellent option to make an additional income, and there is a wide selection of them with great potential to become more valuable over time. However, you should learn more about all of the factors that can affect their value. On the other hand, even with the fact that blockchain is much more secure than any other method of storing data online, there are chances to lose your funds if you are storing your cryptocurrencies on online exchanges. Android apps are a very popular solution for trading on the crypto market, but many people are not even aware of the risks if they choose less-known apps.
Even those exchanges with the highest popularity and millions of satisfied clients are facing some issues with security from time to time. Therefore, the best way to avoid losing your funds is to upload only the amount that you want to trade or convert and avoid keeping your cryptocurrencies on online exchanges for a longer time. Considering all of the facts and results from testing, Android apps for trading with cryptocurrencies are still not so effective and safe, and we should wait until developers manage to improve their security to start using them for storing cryptocurrencies like on e-wallets.
