Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#1

Post by kbelbina » Thu, Nov 07, 2013, 9:10 PM UTC

At this point places like coinbase and Gox are holding hundreds of millions of dollars in effectively cash.

At this point they would be huge targets for kidnapping (think of old school bank robberies). Any idea if they are investing in security to deal with that risk?

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#2

Post by 27182818284 » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 12:11 AM UTC

https://coinbase.com/security

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#3

Post by kbelbina » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 4:51 AM UTC

27182818284 wrote: post #2

https://coinbase.com/security

This doesnt address a founding member being kidnapped or his family kidnapped.

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#4

Post by atom-morgan » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 2:03 PM UTC

kbelbina wrote: post #3

27182818284 wrote: post #2

https://coinbase.com/security

This doesnt address a founding member being kidnapped or his family kidnapped.

Is it addressed with JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, etc? There are lots of companies that deal with large amounts of money. Why is Coinbase being singled out here?

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#5

Post by shiftpgdn » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 5:41 PM UTC

atom-morgan wrote: post #4

kbelbina wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesnt address a founding member being kidnapped or his family kidnapped.

Is it addressed with JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, etc? There are lots of companies that deal with large amounts of money. Why is Coinbase being singled out here?

Yes: http://www.starrcompanies.com/WhatWeCover/KidnapRansomExtort...

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#6

Post by jfrisby » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 9:43 AM UTC

atom-morgan wrote: post #4

kbelbina wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesnt address a founding member being kidnapped or his family kidnapped.

Is it addressed with JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, etc? There are lots of companies that deal with large amounts of money. Why is Coinbase being singled out here?

An alternative to the insurance model is to implement something like SSS ("Shamir's Secret Sharing")...

Re: Ask HN: What is Coinbase's Personnel Security Like

#7

Post by kbelbina » Wed, Nov 13, 2013, 12:51 AM UTC

atom-morgan wrote: post #4

kbelbina wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesnt address a founding member being kidnapped or his family kidnapped.

Is it addressed with JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, etc? There are lots of companies that deal with large amounts of money. Why is Coinbase being singled out here?

Coinbase is being singled out because it is a much smaller group of people with access to an asset which is significantly easier to steal / spend than a room full of gold, cash, or bank accounts full of USD.