Kaspersky Lab Aims to Secure the Future of Cryptocurrency Exchanges with Merkeleon Cybersecurity Audit

Woburn, MA – November 1, 2018 – To enhance cybersecurity protection for cryptocurrency trading platforms and their users, Kaspersky Lab has conducted an audit for Merkeleon, helping the company to assess and improve its cybersecurity defenses. Merkeleon is an Austrian crypto-exchange software provider, offering multifunctional solutions for the safe purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies. 

The role of cryptocurrencies in online financial transactions is growing rapidly – not only for investors, but also for cybercriminals, who have stolen nearly $10 million in cryptocurrency through fraudulent schemes in the last year. As part of the development process for its crypto-exchange script, Merkeleon wanted to ensure its platform was robust enough to withstand sophisticated cyber-threats. In September 2018, the company turned to Kaspersky Lab to complete a cybersecurity audit of its exchange and provide recommendations on how to better protect the platform.

During the audit, Kaspersky Lab assessed both the front and back end of the web application.  The company’s experts found the software that runs the crypto-exchange to be highly reliable, praising the level of coordination and efficiency maintained by Merkeleon in the delivery of its product. Kaspersky Lab subsequently provided Merkeleon with a detailed audit report, offering recommendations for any changes to make to the cryptocurrency exchange script. 

Conducting cybersecurity audits is an important step for the evolving cryptocurrency industry, as it is highly attractive to cybercriminals. The relative infancy of crypto-exchanges makes it all the more important to test the robustness of their security, before launching these platforms onto the market and potentially putting customers at risk for data and financial breaches.

“Our software needs to be secure and dependable, so our clients can trade safe in the knowledge that their assets will be protected,” said Alexey Sidorowich, head of sales and business development, Merkeleon. “We understand that while our in-house teams have the skills and knowledge to introduce a certain cybersecurity layer into our platforms, we need external experts to make an assessment so no stone is left unturned. By reaching out to Kaspersky Lab, we knew we’d receive the best advice on the market. Subsequently, Merkeleon has successfully become the first crypto-exchange software to pass an external audit, paving the way and setting a benchmark for the future security of the industry.”

“Recently, we have witnessed a number of attempts to breach crypto-exchange platforms, as it is becoming incredibly appealing for cybercriminals to steal this money,” said Alessio Aceti, vice president of new business, Kaspersky Lab. “For example, a South Korea-based crypto-exchange, Bithumb, had $31 billion stolen last June. As threat actors become more sophisticated in attacking new and developing technologies, it is more important than ever for organizations in this industry to keep their customers safe and understand how well their business is being protected.”

To learn more about the collaboration between Merkeleon and Kaspersky Lab, please visit https://www.merkeleon.at/cryptocurrency/general-audit-by-kaspersky-lab-of-merkeleon-crypto-exchange-software/. 

About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company which has been operating in the market for over 20 years. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into next generation security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

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Meghan Rimol
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