Bitcoin Forum

Every Bitcoin holder has to learn about cyber security. There are so many phrases like not your keys not your coins. There are topics covering how to secure your private keys, how to be careful and watch out for phishing emails, links, scams, keylogger and many others. For me the two most important reasons why every bitcoiners should take a personal course on cyber security are because crypto wallets are attractive to hackers and cybercriminals. Secondly, malwares and keyloggers ...there are too many malwares that try to record our details from the backend without our knowledge. Lastly, if the keys is yours, then the coins are yours, it lies on you take a cybersecurity course to learn sophisticated ways to protect your non-custodial wallet that has your coins.

I think that there has never been a time when bitcoiners should take personal Cyber security courses not for commercial purposes but for personal reasons for them to learn how to stay protected and secure their crypto assets.
What do you think?

I couldn't agree more in fact I think every individual on this planet has to be aware of cyber security but taking the course is not really necessary for everyone, it will be better if we aware of its basics and striking the right balance between convenience and security.

Advanced security measures may involve longer and more complex processes, which can be cumbersome for everyday use. Even if we are completely educated about all the things involved still no security system is foolproof and human errs can lead to vulnerabilities and further complications.

And your statement be like everyone has to become a doctor because they are at the risk of getting sick anytime, Am I wrong?

Please you guys should stop making it seem impossible or very difficult to hold bitcoin.
There is absolutely  no need to go for a cyber security course or test simply because I want to hold bitcoin and this is a bad concept to present to the public about bitcoin  and if I'm to be a newbie, seeing this alone should be able to kill my zeal about to wanting to deal with it.

Just getting  a secure wallet possibly a hard ware wallet and avoiding clicking on unfamiliar and every links that pops up  on our device will do the tricks than spending money trying to enroll on a cyber security course.

Don't get it too personal mate I think the op is just trying to be concerned about the safety of the funds of bitcoiners. Personally I think the items you mentioned are a good way of securing ones bitcoin but there people who do not take these things seriously and may be getting trained on cyber security will really help to sharpen their security awareness because they always come up with scam issues which mostly have been as a result of lack of cyber security. Spending funds to gain proper guidance on good ways to secure not just bitcoin but other personal information about them will help to keep them from harm and scams so if it is worth spending on to get knowledge then it is not bad to talk about it in fact I will really support the op again and again.

From your expression @ Obari you know so much on the possible ways to secure your funds but what about people who are new to bitcoin and those who feel less concerned about their privacy and security do you think they don't need to spend time and money to get trained? 

While it is entirely not necessary to enroll oneself into a cyber-security course, but if anyone gets into bitcoin deeply they would obviously be interested in security practices and learning basic security measures will be really be helpful for them in the future. Precisely speaking, if any individual is handling voluminous amounts of bitcoin regularly, I think they should be having a great knowledge or background in security related aspects since a minor mistake would cost them hundreds or thousands of $$$ easily.

After the failure of FTX, Self-custody has been of utmost importance in cryptocurrency world as any crypto company large enough can fail all of a sudden within a few days if they are not run properly. If the individual's assets in bitcoin are relatively lower, then purchasing a simple hardware wallet such as Trezor would suffice provided they are not randomly clicking onto any malicious link but OTOH if the individual is rich in fiat world and would like to convert their fiat into bitcoin by adding multiple bitcoins to their non-custodial wallet, then a security course would be of utmost importance in safeguarding their assets in long term.

Furthermore, closely monitoring CT can provide us an edge onto the various hacks happening in the bitcoin/crypto world regularly but doing that alone on a regular scale can never help us in saving from the rug pulls or hacks happening every now and then. A minor knowledge of any programming language such as python can be helpful for anyone involved in Bitcoin as we will be able to verify the source codes of multiple software applications where we store our coins.

I believe this is a good decision learning how to secure yourself in crypto-currency is very important for everyone expert and newbies alike so yes I encourage everyone to take the course.

But I would also want to add, this should not mean that protecting yourself in Crypto-currency is complicated, you can follow the simple basis and still be very secured but if you can then why not learn something new

Yes. I agree on you because this will give you an advantage on how to easily secure your account despite of the rampant scams happening online. However, I should also say that this is not actually compulsory for everyone as we can always protect our account as long as we are responsible enough to secure them and not to easily fall on the traps of scammers. But yes, if given a chance, then why not go and grab the opportunity.

Cybersecurity should be a general concern, I think everyone (bitcoin enthusiasts or not) should be conscious of how they use the internet and how to protect their data. Bitcoiners should be very proactive when it comes to learning and practicing basic cybersecurity the most because bitcoin is a digital asset and we use devices (pcs, mobile phones) to access our bitcoins, these devices are vulnerable to hacks and viruses. The information can be gathered online, one can learn from YouTube videos and other free sources how to protect their data and devices.

Enrolling in a course does not mean that one is gaining knowledge about a particular subject. Instead of recommending that bitcoin holders take a course you can suggest that they learn about how to properly secure themselves and their coins which does not need them to register to a course for. I personally have learnt a lot from this forum more than I have learnt from any course or eBook I have used.

You do not need sophisticated ways to protect your wallet, if you follow the most basic steps you will be able to keep your wallet safe.

- Jay -

It shouldn't even be possible to click on links with the device that hodls your Bitcoin, because that device should be offline. Online wallets are risky and can be attacked easily, a hardware wallet or a software wallet created offline is the wallet that should be used to hodl Bitcoins that one cannot afford to lose.

Having said that, a Cybersecurity course might not be necessary, one can learn all they need to know about how to secure their Bitcoin in online forums like Bitcointalk and by reading articles about Bitcoin security online.

Really, I don't think so security or you can say safety is not that hard to deal with, and I am saying it with confidence unless by yourself you don't do any blunders, Safty is as simple as ABC haha I had copied it from somewhere anyway the point is Always Careful with what you do that's all. Nothing else is needed. Haha, a dedicated course for cybersecurity I thnk it is too much buddy..

I wouldn't say I know so much but atleast I know the basis of security and anyone whonis coming into  cryptocurrency consciously should be aware at one point or the other that what they hodling is value, that is, it is worth money and you know people don't joke with money, hence, I believe  you don't expect them joke with the security of their coins and most persons who came into through referral which I believe  most cryptocurrency user came through such means should at some point been told alot about security.
I'm not taking things really personally but anyone reading this from a different  perspective might see it as a big deal to hold bitcoin.

Extremely too much just for holding bitcoin.
With digital banking,  people who use local banks shoukd also be advised  to go get cyber security  courses as well.

I'm not disputing this fact and it will be nice if everyone, especially internet users enroll on this but you should know cybersecurity courses aren't free and in my country, it is usually expensive and you wouldn't expect someone battling to buy bitcoin to first go for a cyber security course first, simply because he wants to hold.

Pardon me but I think most local banks also use this devices you mentioned and I'm not trying to do any form of comparison but since they also use this devices and also deals with money, I think we ought to also enroll in cybersecurity courses as well before using our local banks digital apps.
If you're asked to go enroll  in some form of cyber security courses before using your local bank when you possibly have other equivalent options, will you still voluntarily still use your local bank?
Me: no I wouldn't use it and I believe  most Persons wouldn't as well.


I love the fact that you were specific on cases and scenarios where advancing to getting a  cyber security  course is needed and appreciated which op never did because I see no need for a cyber security course when one is still barely trying to hodl.

There is no bad in what you have said mate but I think this would just complicate things for the new beginners as most people you see in this crypto space are not technologically inclined. Some are just here to do their daily hustle and go away with their profits while some are just here because of what they told them about the crypto space. All this big talk gets them frightened and confused as to how to handle things that they have no knowledge about. What I  think you should have done or said is just to learn the basics of securing wallets properly at least that would help cool off the tension than raising dust. Sometimes when you end up painting something that is not whort it you succeed in making that thing lose value and people begin to see it as not important.

If it were possible, I'd recommend that everybody takes a personal share in the cyber network.... Cus it's all about our treasury at the end of the day... whatever anyone would ensure is utmost security - and any malicious activity shouldn't be left unquestioned...
It'll also help if alot of rehabilitations are made - rehabilitations to bypass every AI sense and techs ... Cus most of this cyber theft have improvised over time... They keep enacting every new development and make good use of them, just to make Thier jobs easy - every effort to cripple Thier source seems to no avail ... We should learn up ourselves.

Sandra 🧑‍🦰

I believe that these lessons are not only for bitcoiners, but for all internet users who care about protecting their sensitive data and privacy. Bitcoiners are not the only ones vulnerable to hacker attacks and fraud schemes, and they may be the least vulnerable to fraud and hacking given the number of attacks that occur almost daily.
According to my estimation, taking lessons in CyberSecurity alone is not enough. Rather, daily practice and constantly asking questions is what motivates the search for answers and knowledge of the methods used by hackers, especially since these methods develop with the development of the tools used. Major platforms and companies hack operations succeed even though they allocate a whole section of human resources specialists in CyberSecurity for protection.

Every one who is online must learn about cybersecurity. It's a must to learn the basis and improve each day by learning.


Everyone can take care of its health and learn what to do to still healthy. (sport, sleep, food...)


Exactly.

Knowledge is the key to everything. As soon as you use the Internet, it is mandatory to have knowledge of cybersecurity, at least the basics. If we don't know anything, then it is certain that there will be a problem one day. Hacked mail, identity theft, romance scam, all this before even having your wallet hacked.

this reminds me of a post on a thread where the link leads to a thread that request that theymos should add a cybersecurity/privacy board. having a board like that where members can easily directed newbies to that board would be a great way to make them aware what should be done to protect themselves online.

edit: here's the thread that I am talking about Request: "Cybersecurity and Privacy" board + Poll (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5434404.0)

As much as these points are correct, but it is not necessary for people to first learn about the cyber security before having the knowledge about how to prevent their wallets or online crypto accounts from being hacked or compromised by scammers..
If one can take caution of not clicking just any link or communicate with dapp or smart contracts in which malicious attacks have been planted, one will be free of wallet or crypto accounts hacks.

If you do not learn cyber security for your personal safety voluntarily, you will be force to learn when your wallet or PC is compromised. People with whole bitcoins do not even need to be told this they know that since they are their own banks they can not afford to be complacent with their coins security. They take the responsibility to learn not just how to secure their coins but their devices, their apartment and any thing that they know can be used by hackers and criminals to compromise their safety. It believe that it is more than just saying not you keys not your coins or even putting your key phrase in a steel plate. And yes, I do support a cybersecurity board on the forum. Thymos should look into it. Thank you.

By cybersecurity people generally mean security for application developers. Things like avoiding SQL injection and other common attacks. As a user, you don't need to know that. You only need to know how to keep yourself safe from malware and phishing/social engineering/scams, how to avoid unsafe Bitcoin wallet setups, like brainwallets.

Jameson Lopp's articles cover almost everything that a beginner needs to know (https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/security.html)

I think hardware wallet already defines the security aspect of your bitcoin, anyone with a hardware to me does need to bother much about security of someone hacking them or not, the security I think they should secure is to protect their hardware wallet not to be stolen.
There have been lot of topics on this security of a thing but let not be as if no one is eligible enough to hold bitcoin.
Let not forget that some people do not hold bitcoin in safe custodian wallet rather their bitcoin are mainly on exchange where they do trade and make some cool profits, only those who wants to hold for years that thinks of security and best wallet to hold their bitcoin.

I agree, but when I research on this forum not many people use "not your keys, not your coins",
maybe almost of them save on exchange, what do you think?

whatever security lesson we have to offer to them is always useless when they still save on third-party companies.
And at the same time. we think about how to secure their assets on a non-custody wallet even if they really don't know what it is.

it's the same as we tell them calculus but they don't know the basic count of algebra.

I'm not sure investors holding a fair amount of Bitcoin or beginners starting to save their Bitcoins will think too much about cybersecurity. everyone will think that storing our Bitcoin in a hardware wallet is enough and we don't connect our wallet with an obscure web as much as possible.
after we hold our wallet key, as much as possible we minimize the wallet to connect with any device that can be attacked by malware. I think many of us do that, but don't think about what the concept of cybersecurity really is.

It would be best for anybody in this digital age to undergo some sort of a cybersecurity course, but I don't think that's a prerequisite. One can possibly have the basic knowledge without enrolling in a course. Research, consultation with those who know, and other ways of gaining knowledge might be enough for a hodler. I don't even think you need to know the sophisticated ways of keeping your non-custodial wallets safe. There must be simple yet equally effective ways to protect your money.

OP, have you already finished your cybersecurity course, by any chance?

You're advising every Bitcoin holder should take a cybersecurity course, since you're a Bitcoin holder, have you complete any cybersecurity course? can you share it? I see you're like to create many thread, so far you've created 188 topics, why there's no one talk about cybersecurity? I'm talking about the knowledge you get from cybersecurity course, not the copy pasta from someone article.

You don't need to run full node to invest in Bitcoin.

You are correct sir. Something like this is what I expected OP to have proposed not this whole thing of cyber security because not everyone would be feasible with it. The name alone would scare away people from even thinking about it. Although otis good for those fully into the system but not everybody would see it fit to give it a try. People do not want much stress going through things of this nature these days as they prefer this with no much stress or complications.

These links are quite alright for a beginner to fast adapt to and learn the basics of security and getting their wallets protected from scammers and hackers. I think anyone interested would find it okay to go by.

I am sure most of you are already linked to Computers in any way that you are aware of these basic terms like keyloggers, phishing, etc.
Your idea is good however I don't think so there is any specific need of going through a Cybersecurity course to just be a Bitcoin Holder. It will help in improving knowledge but won't make a big of difference. Instead the user should just know how to keep their Bits safe. That's it :)

Your are right and i agreed with you but to some extent only. Because there are farmers, construction workers, office workers, teachers, etc. whose field of work is totally different from Cybersecurity. They found such things hard to understand. Well if a person is young and still had a learning mind then those people might learn the course otherwise i don't thin people will intend to do such course.

And maybe such ideas could discourage people to adopt BTC. Because they will think of such steps as necessary one and will not make it. But, i do know how much a person will save himself when he get to know the basics of cybersecurity. or at least how hacks happens. I did a course of Data encryption and security in my last semester.

And i was too stunned to know many hacking, encryption techniques and in my POV, a person will not be hacked or scammed until he make a mistake by himself. Like even in the phishing scams the person is the one who click on the links. there are many cases so, if people at least came to know about different hacking and scamming techniques they would save themselves. Such as a topic was created few days back in which OP shared many scams types and many other members also shared unique ones.

Have you ever been scammed ? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5459808.msg62548920#msg62548920)

Cyber security is a term that carries a lot of sub-sciences within it, and it is too big to be taught in the form of simple lectures for people who do not have a technical background, but what is better than that is simple advice that everyone can follow and easily avoid most attacks.

Tips could be:

• Do not click or download an application that you do not know or trust in the developer.
• Learn how to properly set up cold storage wallets.
• Make a watchonly wallet on a clean device.
• Check the sending address several times.
• Avoid overinvesting in altcoins
• Do not rely on security or anti-virus software. Assume that your device is not safe and take precautions based on this assumption.
• Read and follow news and updates.

It is as simple as this.

I would say that it's not scary to be confident, but it's scary to be self-confident.
On this topic, people often resort to self-confidence, thinking that knowledge about wallets, without knowing what attacks can happen to users, will save them and nothing will happen to them. Well, sometimes people do not want to learn from the mistakes of others; life will present its lessons and experiences to them.
I agree wholeheartedly with the OP. The Internet today is a big garbage heap, flourishing with all possible attractive and not-so-attractive things. How many scams were there, and how were they organized? These are not those sites written on the knee, but rather beautifully designed and advertised scams, which were very difficult not to believe.
And that is why the constant monitoring of all new hacker tricks will be a guardian angel for users who have finances on the network. Talking about the fact that I know this and sleeping peacefully can end very badly. Because as technology evolves, so do hacker schemes. And the best solution for all crypto fans would be regular monitoring of cybersecurity.

I do also think that the term being used here is incorrect, but the general idea is worth having. Cybersecurity term is too broad but also has deep and in-depth complexities on its own.

For general users, what they should be learning is about Digital Security or Literacy. Scams, malwares, and viruses are being addressed in both cybersecurity and digital security aspect, but in each sector, what is being taught is on a whole completely different level. Lopp's site curates good learning sources, it also tells having formal courses is not necessarily required.

Of course, protecting the wallet is one of the most important crypto basics that beginners should learn before learning anything else, because most beginners lose their assets due to their lack of experience in protecting their wallet.

Personally, when I was a beginner, my wallet was hacked due to my negligence and lack of sufficient knowledge and experience. So I learned a big lesson from this harsh experience.

I agree, it's one of the most overlook aspect of crypto. Everyone jumps in and think that in crypto, money is very easy and they are going to be self made millionaire. So they simply buy, whether bitcoin or any other altcoin.

But then it will hit to them that they really need to understand how to protect their wallets. Others overlook it though, until one day, all their crypto was stolen from them because they didn't practice safe security hygiene. So it's really important that at least some basic course about cybersecurity should have been learn by everyone at the start.

I agree with you that cybersecurity should be a priority for bitcoiners, as bitcoiners we have become accustomed to security measures (like those mentioned in the OP) that are particular to securing our bitcoin wallets and our funds. But as technology is developing everyday, we have to adapt as well to the current times. Hackers and people with malicious intent are getting creative everyday, it’s important that we develop ourselves so we can protect our data from unscrupulous identities.

I think it can be very useful for bitcoin hodlers or any types of investment only if you can afford to pay for it. Because if not, that’s still fine because it’s never actually a compulsory thing to do. As long as you study on the risk of your investment and you always invest with caution, then most likely you can still avoid any form of hacking or stealing on your funds. The most important thing is you always invest responsibly, otherwise your investment will go into waste knowing you are not capable enough to secure your funds or your coins.

I think you are very correct, OP. There's this saying that if we are not informed, then we are deformed. I know that this time around it's quite uneasy for some people to read long paragraphs, but for a bit of information that is obtained from cyber security courses, I consider it to be helpful, and it can also be helpful to every Bitcoiner. It doesn't mean that a Bitcoiner must read or learn everything about cyber security at once. Gradually, they can read, and if not now, maybe in the future there are chances that they will still make use of what they have learned. Every now and then, scammers and hackers are always on the internet looking for possible means to hack investors funds.

This is not actually necessary but if you have the means to get that course, I believe it can also be very helpful on your part. Especially with all scamming and hacking news every now and then, it’s best to secure our non-custodial wallet at all times. However, even if you don’t get to study on that, learning on how to secure your wallet is still possible through studying this forum and of course, through your own experience in safekeeping your coins. As you keep on hodling your coins, you will know eventually the dos and dont’s when securing your funds/coins in your wallet.

Exactly. Whether you’re into crypto or any type of investment online, learning cybersecurity is certainly a must. Otherwise, all the sensitive information that you have been keeping the whole time will be easily stolen by hackers or scammers and definitely all your coins will vanish like a thin air. That’s why we should never take for granted learning cybersecurity at all times, as everything that we need to learn is already laid on the internet for free.

Well, I completely agree with that, cryptocurrency space is a very dangerous world because of so many hackers, etc. Every day they are trying a lot of ways just to compromise your device, accounts, wallets, etc., and if you really don't know how you're going to protect yourself from these hackers you're going to get hacked for sure. I mean we do notice that most of the people that get hacked are newbies or beginners just because they didn't have a lot of experience and knowledge on how they can protect themselves from these hackers. So before even starting or planning to invest in cryptocurrency or bitcoin you should study how you can protect yourself from this kind of space. So taking courses is really recommended because it could easily save you a big amount of money. I mean we need to continuously learn anyway stay updated on what's happening on the internet because every day there are new ways hackers are trying, most of the time if you are not familiar with how the hackers work they could easily trick you, so always avoid a lot of red flags, and always think before clicking something on the internet.

I don't think Cyber Security is the correct term here, cyber security usually means advance thing related to hacking and server stuff. And I think it's not a necessity for Bitcoin owner in general to learn about that. And I think on your main post you also talk more about basic stuff that people need to learn to avoid scamming and phising, not some kind of hacker attack.

You can learn about cyber security from paid courses or from free courses or free available resources on the Internet. If you see its importance, you will find many resources to learn.

• [LEARN & EARN] Phishing Quizzes - Beginners & Experts (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5178375.0)
• Security checklist (https://chainsec.io/checklist/)
• Cryptocurrency security series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNpphMz-w5w&list=PLPQwGV1aLnTtNJgzzkygLNeiQwXetnBHr)
• Be careful with online services (https://bitcoin.org/en/secure-your-wallet#online)

Then they should stop feeling less concerned about their security and learn the basics. People who are less concerned about their privacy won't even bother enrolling for a cybersecurity class because they won't see a need.
I take my privacy and security seriously, so I may be interested in a cybersecurity course, but someone else who's so nonchalant about security won't care.

I don't think telling people who don't care about their privacy to take a cybersecurity course is the way to go. If they can't learn from the advice on the forum where they see real-life reasons why they should take their security seriously then I don't think they'll ever learn.

Cyber security is advanced. People who use Bitcoin don't need that advanced knowledge to hold Bitcoin, the basics of security and privacy are enough, but sadly a lot of people don't even adhere to the basics, so when you don't follow the basics how then can you follow the advanced and more complex?

Every problem that occurs, we have to see from which side we have to strengthen the level of security, when it comes to crypto or rather bitcoin, what needs to be considered is a more credible and secure storage wallet to store the bitcoins that we have. An important lesson from this condition is to try to study the safe wallet that has been conveyed or recommended by many people who have enough experience in the forum. All that remains is to dig up the closest and most trusted sources to get definite answers, except when someone is too lazy to read and find out the security side that needs to be improved by him.

The goal is clear to protect and secure the assets that we have, the technology and digitalization are places where fraud often occurs for several reasons, but it is our own individuals who can stem all forms of fraud by finding out what we need with higher security services.

It is not entirely bad for someone especially a beginner to spend some money to acquire knowledge that would help protect him/her from scammers. But to be honest I don't think not being a cybersecurity expert would make me less informative and security conscious. I don't actually need to enrol in a cybersecurity course to be able to keep my seeds safe and protect my assets. The best practice is to be reading up and constantly keeping one self abreast of security threats and advancement in the cybersecurity world.

hehmm. Your advice is absolutely right. although, this is the conversation of people above my level. However, reading what you have said will at least add to our references and we can anticipate that we will remain safe in protecting the crypto assets that we invest in the exchanges we have chosen.

I think in our forum yeah, there are some courses or quiz being put up by our distinguished member to test ourselves and obviously to tell us that we need to take cybersecurity very seriously.

But outside? I doubt that newbies are performing this courses, maybe they saw it, but they just bypass and go directly acquiring crypto and then going online which put it as risk.

Because if we don't know or we are just relax with everything we do, hackers are everyone. Just one click from unknown sources, and then your crypto is gone.

Either with money or free, the most i important thing here is to seek for bitcoin knowledge and know about cryptocurrency, many were scammed today because they lack the knowledge needed to know what to do ad how to go about their crypto experience, then we are used to the way things operates in cryptocurrency, we will not be deceived by anyone to scam us before all their possible techniques could have been exposed to us from what we have learnt, we should also know this that learning is never ending, it's a continuous process we must always get updates about what's going on concerning the security in cryptocurrency.

Usually crypto beginners start with small funds and peacocks don't think much about security. So basically they are just thinking how to increase the amount of crypto they have and that I experienced when I was new to cryptocurrencies. After that, when I had enough crypto and many cases of theft, I just thought and learned to store crypto safely. But I know in the end it's wrong, we should have everything to do with crypto at the beginning and when using. That is to avoid bad things that can happen.

The forum gives a lot of knowledge on how to store our bitcoins and what not to do in order not to lose money. I don’t know how those who are not familiar with this forum worry about their safety and where they get their knowledge from, it seems to be more difficult for them to do all this and they can more often become victims of scammers.

OP, I love this your advice on reading  cyber security to strengthen our wallet security. Anyone who have a good significant number of bitcoin will be concerned about securing his bitcoin so that his investment portfolio will be safe from hackers. It is people with little amount of bitcoin that will think that this course is irrelevant and not useful.

Lack of proper wallet security has led so many people to loss their coin to hackers and it has even wrecked some exchanges. This course is a very good course because you don't know the benefits that cyber security skill has,you can work in a good company. So many people are lazy to keep their bitcoin themselves that is why they leave it in a exchange but will this skill you will have confident in wallet safety.

Yes, all bitcoin hodlers should be more aware about cybersecurity but that can be learned even through self-study provided that there are free articles in the internet that talk about it, and not mainly taking cybersecurity course that you still need to pay. However, it’s a general concern actually once you start owning bitcoin and become responsible as a long term hodler. You need to protect all your personal data and information to protect yourself from any form of hacks or scams.

We don't need a cyber security course to guide us before we use Bitcoin. We need a wiki or some kind of public resource which people can add their knowledge to. Cybersecurity is not a static topic, the warzone of security and privacy is ever evolving on all 3 sides - The defenders; people like you and I trying to stay safe, The attackers; Hackers who are looking to profit from our poor conduct, The overlords; governments, corporations, companies and other entities who are trying to invade our privacy and collect our data.

A cyber security course might keep you safe at a basic level, though a public resource (like the requested Cybersecurity & Privacy board (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5434404.0)) would keep readers on the forefront, on the back of those who are sharing their knowledge because of their interest and passion in keeping themselves and other Bitcoin users safe from all cyber threats.

"Cybersecurity courses" are less about personal safety and more about how to find exploits, how to exploit those exploits, how to patch them, report them, and so on. They do not normally teach you how to be safe online, which is usually prerequisite knowledge to know anyway. And even if they did, do you think it'd be worth several hundred dollars or however much they are charging just to hold some bitcoins?

Lessons are clear: Do not hold your coins on exchanges. Don't be greedy and fall for too-good-to-be-true offers.

You're a good fellow sir
And thanks for seeing things from same perspective  I'm seeing them because yes it is of no doubt that getting a cyber-security course is good but doing so considering the cost of the course  just fir the sake of holding  bitcoin  isn't worth it and that's bad.

The lessons are very clear, don't hold on exchanges,  don't be too greedy and don't click on every random links.


I love this very point of yours because I can remember falling for a too good of a rate after getting a loan from @shasan, intended for treatment and ended up losing everything to fraud because i was too greedy and fell for a rate that was too good to be real and then clicked on a phising link that approved my 2FA and authorized the transaction.
I learnt the hard way but I'm glad I'm preaching  against this now since I already have a practical experience.

I agree but I think that it's already in the roots whenever someone gets into Bitcoin. It's like an actual requirement to understand what you're doing and how to protect yourself from the culprits and how you're going to protect your wallet.

This is giving us the urge and forcing us to understand this concept of protection in knowing how-to get into Bitcoin.

So, you basically gain profits and at the same time you are also gaining knowledge about these matters pertaining to cybersecurity like phishing, and other online scams that you must be aware of.

Many people don't even know the basics of privacy and security so they end up being scammed. I think OP is trying to draw the attention of members to place more importance on protecting their assets. Common sense is not always common because many people neglect basic knowledge.

I also share your thoughts that it is not necessary to pay and enroll in a course in cybersecurity because you can learn most of the ways of securing your assets. But many free online courses on cybersecurity can be impactful. You might also think that you are well informed about security but you should also know that these hackers and scammers are also finding new ways of exploiting loopholes in the security systems. So there is a need to upgrade your knowledge periodically on cybersecurity. I also think that there is a need to learn and relearn to hold Bitcoin because some people worked very hard for years to accumulate their coins.

Discussions like this I suppose is more discussed by people who are of higher ranks than a newbie like me but with my own little knowledge about internet security, I think learning about cyber security will go a long way in helping anyone who who wants to keep not just his personal Bitcoin data safe but to also safeguard any other internet key.
As far as the internet is concerned many people wake up every trying new measures on how to hack into people's personal security details and thereby stealing from them immediately they gain access to their security keys and that's why we all need to know the basics of Cyber security so as to stop this Intruders from accessing our respective personal Bitcoin data

It seems that although you are a newbie you are concerned about security from the start and that doesn't discourage you, but that's not how it works for most people. I have told some friends about Bitcoin in the last years, and failed in arousing their interest, not to say if I also warned them about cybersecurity threats.

I genuinely think that for small amounts you don't need special knowledge, apart from the basic every computer user should know (don't run unknown .exes, don't click on unknown links, don't send relevant information while connected to public wifis without a good VPN...).

If you want to be your own bank and store a high amount of your savings, then concerns should be higher, but not too much: as many colleagues said before, just a good hardware wallet will do for that (you can create your keys offline if you want to be ultra-safe).

And, of course, you should educate yourself and take cybersecurity courses if your aim is to escrow money from other people, especially high amounts, because you'll be targeted by hackers, but this is very unusual.

So we could say that for 80% of Bitcoiners who "play" with satoshis, there is no need of improved cybersecurity, especially if that will make them think about it twice and abandon the idea of holding any sats; for the remaining 20% it would be advisable, but it can be ignored by simply purchasing a good hardware wallet; and for the 0.0001% of escrowers, then yes, educate yourself not only in cybersecurity but also in laws and economics before managing someone else's money, just in case.

I'm 100% on it, everytime I have someone invited to invest in Bitcoin I always advise on the many risk associated with holding Bitcoin, I have advice and taught them that they are their own bank here and they are the sole responsible for their coins, if online and offline banks are spending huge amount of money to secure their platform much more on your coins safety where you are the sole responsible.
I urge them to watch videos and read articles about securing their machine and wallets and change their mindset to be educated holders and investors.

"a home owner must secure his house from thieves who will definitely always target the contents of their home by providing good security against windows, doors and other funds that can be infiltrated by these thieves"

as well as laptops or smartphones that are currently owned by bitcoiners, hackers are very sophisticated and always have the smartest way to infiltrate a laptop or smartphone without realizing it, so it is important to have a little ability or knowledge about cyber security or what is the best way to avoid hacking or spying.

Every individual needs to create a strong fence to secure the Bitcoin they have, often simple things are taken for granted like storing Bitcoin in Exchange wallets, ignoring phishing links that are spread via Email, Telegram, WhatsApp messages and other social media. hackers always try to lure their victims by all means, need to avoid the little things that are often taken for granted as a precaution to save assets.

Bitcoiners who have joined the forum at least really understand how to avoid something that can threaten the safety of their assets. I feel lucky to be in the midst of a community that reminds each other members to avoid any form that could threaten the safety of assets.
 

Everyone should know about cyber security. Because the present age is the age of technology. The next generation will be completely dependent on technology. If someone loses everything there due to his safety, he will be responsible for it himself. But while some may disagree on whether advanced level cyber security is mandatory for everyone, I would say that it is not mandatory for everyone yet, but they will be required in the next few days. But considering the future, it is necessary to know these things.

As people that are dealing with digital currency it's gonna be an added advantage to have apprehension about cyber security giving you an edge over your contemporaries as a bitcoin holder nevertheless it's not compulsory that everyone that's into bitcoin be it a trader or investor must enroll in a course to acquire cyber security knowledge. Hence the person is not taking it beyond being a bitcoin holder or trader then the basics on how to keep your secret phrase safe and secure, not sharing it to a second party, been aware of avoid clicking of unverified links etc, that's enough to hold onto for ones wallet security.
Let be very careful not to make the bitcoin holding stuff look so tedious and herculean to handle in our various wallet it could scare some newbies somehow.

Thank you so much sir for the advice in your response. I've learnt a lot from it as it'll help in shaping me while going forward. I sincerely appreciate

When you have some crypto assets you are obliged to learn to protect yourself from hackers because these people are not resting and they continue updating their tactics to hack and steal your crypto from you. You also need to always update your info regarding their new ways of hacking and also there are lots of ways to prevent it once you are getting used to it. But if you don't have crypto with you and you are planning to promote bitcoins to your families and friends, then you have to learn and take some courses for Cybersecurity so that you can protect them from any potential threats like hackers and scammers.

Not actually a compulsory thing to do but if you are capable to do so, then why not? After all, you also gained for what you pay. However, do not expect for everyone that they will also do the same thing. There’s always a lot of ways to learn cybersecurity for free, and I think by having your own due diligence to study and understand it, you will always gain positive ideas on how to deal with it. And through self-experience, you will always learn it for free, without the need to pay for it.

If this is what is needed for every holder then we're not ready to welcome global adoption because many people won't have the time to start doing that. I know we always say we should be incharge of the security of our finances but if we have to go through this courses to achieve that, It would be a failed mission. I have nothing against cyber security as they'll definitely be useful to anyone that takes them but to hold bitcoin doesn't have to much of a trouble. One thing I noticed in the industry is that those claiming to know it all (when to buy, sell, hold etc) don't get profits but the average users that just buy and store his Bitcoin in a secured location always come out profitable.

If you have the time and money to afford a cyber security course, take it but if you don't then just make sure your investment are secured in the best possible way because hackers will not stop at nothing to steal your Bitcoin if they find out you have some that they can steal. A paper wallet or a non custodial decentralized wallet is fine to use to store your Bitcoin and you just relax and let the market do its magic. You can come back in few years and your investment would had yeild great results (profits).

I'm not against taking a cybersecurity course; it causes no harm. However, I don't believe that hackers are constantly on the lookout to steal your bitcoin; it's not that simple, nor does it work that way. The general principle of being safe on the internet, both for yourself and your coins, is pretty straightforward: don't visit sketchy websites, avoid torrents at all costs, don't download stupid stuff from unverified sources, and don't store your passwords online, such as on Dropbox, Mega, or Google Drive. If you follow these simple tips, it's quite unlikely that you'll ever fall victim to a possible attack or compromise.

Why take a cyber security course? Must everyone go technical before they can deal with Bitcoin? Do I need any form of technical knowledge to understand the phrase "Not your key, not your coin"? Does the word "Centralized and decentralized not make sense to a common man?

Taking a cyber security course should be a choice,,not atcompulsory oneory one for e.eWhate. see ast I see as necessary for one to learn before g is the difference between a custodial and non-custodial wallet. Know howsafelysafely keep your private key and ;hrase; know that the wallet  and hrase and private key hold the entire control over the funds on the wallet; and know that it's important not to share those accesses with anyone. Avoid untrusted links and all that.
 
Cyber security courses are for those who need more than just holding Bitcoin, as those courses are of great advantage to them, and they're for the person's personal skill development level and not just for the purpose of holding Bitcoin alone. There are services that they can render aside from holding Bitcoin alone, and they can top off their own personal security in whatever way they want to channel their programming. Those are choices for them to make, and lacking thatknowledge won't stop anyone from being a successful Bitcoin holder.

I don't see any important reason why we all have to take a cyber security course just to be able to keep our wallet safe. If we are ready to follow all safety rules and guidelines, we are not going to have usea with transaction and keeping our walltes safe. Although scammers are hackers had been looking for ways and upgrading there effort to always have a loophole on how to steal from people. We need to make sure that we are always at alert and we are keeping our information safe from the hands of those that can use the little information they know about us to hack our portfolio and take away our funds.

Yes, it should be by choice, as long as losing one's asset is not also by choice. OP only generalised the talk, not forcing anyone to take the course; he (OP) has just given some reason for his title, and anyone who thinks it important for them to do so can go ahead with it. It's true that we can buy and hold out Bitcoin without full knowledge of Cyber security, but gaining some knowledge about it is not bad; it doesn't mean you should go and start studying the courses before Investing in Bitcoin.

This is actually a good topic to discuss, especially for newbies who are holding a big amount of bitcoin in their wallet. Security is very important and there's no room for jokes about it, as there are always hackers waiting for the slightest mistake to steal all your bitcoin and altcoins.

Taking cyber security courses is essential for bitcoin holders but you don't need to know everything. Understanding the basics of how to secure yourself from being hacked and keeping your online environment safe should be your first step and especially by avoiding to download any suspicious programs or files on your PC. Always save your seed phrase offline, and for even better security consider investing in a hardware wallet.

This is a good idea. Most of us are afraid to loss our coins to hackers so it is important to learn cybersecurity to protect our wallets. Because the way this hackers are attacking accounts online is something else. For those who have a very large amount of bitcoins in their wallets an do not know the technical and security measures that will be used to secure the funds are always afraid of hackers. But if they know the security know how to protect their funds then they will sleep well with the two eyes close.

I personally classify bitcointalk forum, as a course, although, I can see that you never really graduate from it, because you learn new things and gain experiences from other members every day. So most of the things that I've learned about bitcoin, including how best to secure my wallet and guard against cybercrime as it relates to bitcoin, I've gotten on this forum. Though that is not to discredit the importance of taking additional course on cyber security. What I've learned about how best to secure bitcoin is to store it in a non custodial wallet, as you have noted. Unless this method is proven that it can be compromised, without the owner being careless, then it'll become inevitable to find solution.

Everyone who is in cryptocurrency is conscious of securing itself from scammers, the thing is that cryptocurrency is now the shortest way people is now using to scam people and that is bringing bad name to Bitcoin, so i believe that any cryto enthusiasm should know that security is important in cryptocurrency and if you have the security you will lose all your cryptocurrency investment. Why some people do lose their coins in wallet because of using wrong wallet and another one is investing in a scam project without investigation

It helps if you understand threats and things that can go wrong and why they pose risks. Understanding aspects of cybersecurity helps you to follow better or best practices. Do you need courses for that? Maybe, it depends on your level of understanding and expertise. You can learn a lot yourself, but you need to be somewhat tech savvy and eager to read and watch and practice a lot. If you're not very much interested, you will have a hard time doing it yourself.

I'd say that awareness of risks isn't only for hodlers but as "digital life" occupies more and more it's a necessity for everyone. Cybercrime is convenient for criminals, less risky than robbing a bank as we know it from before "digital". The Internet connects us globally. That's why ransomware and similar exploded in popularity.

Quick tips: don't have your software wallets on your digital devices where you do your daily "digital shit". Use a decent hardware wallet with good understanding of best practices as a barrier to potentially unsafe computers whose safety level you can't assess easily. Don't let greed eat your brain, if something sounds too good to be true, it's in most cases not good for you but the other party. Don't use an OS for your crypto stuff that has a major market share as this will be the preferred playground for malware.

Going to cyber security for personal reasons, to stay protected and to secure assets is not really necessary. Even banks usually get hacked by scammers even when they have ethical hackers, so learning cyber security for these reasons will be like a waste of time and energy. You must not learn it as course for one to secure his/her wallet or assets. I will rather learn for commercial purposes than to learn for protection of assets. My advice for  everyone is that, make sure you keep your pass keys or phrase very safe and don't open your device anyhow to people most especially don't show off anything related to your pass keys to public cause it can be traced.

Sounds a lot like dream dancing and hoping for the best going through darker corners of a town. Could work...  ::)

Yes, companies and banks get hacked even when they devote money, training and ethical hackers to harden their security. But those entities have (sometimes a lot of) people involved, sometimes working under pressure, who are not 100% loyal and/or vigilant, who don't care, make mistakes and get tricked into clicking on links they better shouldn't have, ignoring cybersecurity best practices.

You don't need to know all details of threats so much so that you could replicate them. You should know at least the basic picture of threats because that helps you to spot and avoid the pitfalls.

Keep your mnemonic recovery words of your wallets offline and safe, keep safe redundant copies to avoid possible loss at one single place. Don't use stupidly easy passwords that are already on every hacker's password dictionary.

Know for a fact that software wallets can't protect your assets on potentially compromised devices. And it's usually not easy to judge if a digital online device is compromised or isn't yet. Don't do your crypto coin stuff on digital devices which you use for all your daily online shit.

There are hackers that are just in existence of the space for the purpose to empty one's account, I'm narrating out of experience and it was hugly poor. There are measures to follow up when we're in the space. Don't give up because these projects have been timely in place to make good bullish runs. As traders, they ought to understand how these things works and brings out the best student. Learning cybersecurity will do enough aides and also keep us on winning path. Atleast our chances of getting scammed reduced to its minimum ratio.

   This an important and necessary aspect of our Bitcoin journey. As an holder getting yourself equipped with Cyber security knowledge will help you identify scammers,their sites and the thrick they play in dupping investors online, how they operate