> Cotten possessed the only key to the online vaults where his customers’ investments were supposedly stored.
This is very important. Due to strong cryptography it's safe to assume the cryptocurrencies can't be moved without the secret key. What happens if the owner of the key dies? My father asked me about this once and I had no answer. Something to really think about.
We currently think of secret keys as expendable. Compromised or lost? Just make a new one. Nobody shares or inherits keys, everyone has their own set. The dead won't be encrypting or signing any messages and there is generally no reason for anyone to retain the ability to impersonate them.
Traditional key discipline relies on the assumption keys are worth nothing. All this goes out the window when these are the keys to assets worth thousands, millions. A new key discipline needs to be developed.
This is very important. Due to strong cryptography it's safe to assume the cryptocurrencies can't be moved without the secret key. What happens if the owner of the key dies? My father asked me about this once and I had no answer. Something to really think about.
We currently think of secret keys as expendable. Compromised or lost? Just make a new one. Nobody shares or inherits keys, everyone has their own set. The dead won't be encrypting or signing any messages and there is generally no reason for anyone to retain the ability to impersonate them.
Traditional key discipline relies on the assumption keys are worth nothing. All this goes out the window when these are the keys to assets worth thousands, millions. A new key discipline needs to be developed.