#SmartCustody Adversary — Convenience
Our first adversay in category “Loss by Mistakes" is CONVENIENCE. It sounds, well, convenient, doesn't it? But it is a real adversary because focusing on it instead of safety or security can cause you to lose your digital assets. (1/8)
Our first adversay in category “Loss by Mistakes" is CONVENIENCE. It sounds, well, convenient, doesn't it? But it is a real adversary because focusing on it instead of safety or security can cause you to lose your digital assets. (1/8)
CONVENIENCE is an error that arises from your decision to ignore your normal security procedures. Yet that decision might be for entirely good and pragmatic reasons. (2/8)
If you're on the road, cold storage might not be accessible, or it might be vulnerable to theft. If you're frequently trading, you might need access to your cryptocurrency in a easy and quick manner. CONVENIENCE is important, but can be also dangerous. (3/8)
Here's how I imagine the motivation: "I know that you want things to be simple. ... if you’re going on a trip, definitely ease up on the security of your bitcoins, so that you can access them from the road. I’m sure nothing bad can happen from all of this ease of use!" (4/8)
The solution is obvious: don't do it. But more thoughtfully: carefully consider any time that you prioritize CONVENIENCE over security and safety, be aware of the new threats you're creating, and make sure they're worth it. (5/8)
One of the challenges of CONVENIENCE is that, like many the other adversaries in this category, what is convenient to mitigate a threat for a different adversary may increase the threat of this adversary. You want to be just convenient enough but no more! (6/8)
A key to mitigating the threat of CONVENIENCE is to create checklists for your process. This is what airline pilots do. If you skip or change a step, force yourself to sign-off on it. Then at least you KNOW what risks you are taking isn’t about laziness, but is important. (7/8)
Have your own stories of CONVENIENCE impacting digital assets? Your own solutions? Let us know! And please consider supporting #SmartCustody. We're working on V2, with multi-sigs and other expansions: …tcustody.btcpay.blockchaincommons.com (8/8)
