USA: McAfee cyber security guru warns everybody at risk after he gets hacked
USA: McAfee cyber security guru warns everybody at risk after he gets hacked
2017-12-30 17:23
McAfee computer security software company founder John McAfee warned that cyber hackers are becoming «more proficient and more sophisticated» during a video call interview in Lexington on Saturday.
«This is something out of my control, totally out of everyone's control. Hackers are becoming more and more proficient and more sophisticated in their hacking techniques. If this can happen to me — I promise you it can happen to anyone,» McAfee warned, as he described the recent hacking of his own mobile phone.
The cybersecurity guru explained how his own Twitter account was hacked through his US network provider AT&T. The unidentified hacker used the opportunity to promote lesser known digital currencies, which then briefly surged before dropping once more.
According to McAfee, the perpetrator recommended six different digital coins in six minutes, which he probably invested in beforehand. McAfee explained that if this happened, when the value of the coins rose, the hacker would have been able to sell his shares and make a multi-million profit.
The cyber security head said that he was unable to do anything about the breach of security, “Prior to being hacked, my phone was totally disabled — you couldn't call into it, I could not call out from it.”
He said that all other cryptocurrency miners face the same risk, and that in future hackers may look to wallets on the exchange, where they could harvest “billions of dollars.”
McAfee ended his interview with the ominous warning that, «every exchange will at some point in the near future get hacked.»
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies saw an unexpected soar in value in 2018, causing financial experts in countries such as Germany to consider the future of its use as a potential viable currency.
