Personal Security Checklist & Reporting

Operational security ("opsec") is the practice of structuring your devices, accounts, and habits so that one mistake does not compromise everything. The core principles are simple. Implementing them takes a few hours and prevents most realistic attacks. Use a hardware wallet for any crypto holding worth more than a small spending budget. Ledger and Trezor are the established options. The hardware device signs transactions internally and never exposes the private key to your computer, so even if your laptop is fully compromised by malware, an attacker cannot move funds without physical access to the device and the PIN. Verify the device on first setup using the official manufacturer software, and buy directly from the manufacturer or an authorized reseller — never used, never from a third-party marketplace. Write your seed phrase on paper or stamp it into metal. Never type it into any computer. Never photograph it. Never store it in a cloud-synced note app. Do not enter it into any website or wallet recovery tool that asks for it — the only legitimate use of a seed phrase is restoring a wallet from scratch on a new hardware device or trusted software wallet, in your physical possession. Anyone asking for it through a website, chat, email, phone call, or video call is conducting a theft attempt. Use long, unique passwords for every crypto-related account, generated and stored by a password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, KeePassXC). The same password reused across two sites is a pre-authorized breach. Enable two-factor authentication on every exchange and email account, and use an authenticator app (Aegis, Authy, Ente Auth) or a hardware security key (YubiKey, SoloKey) — not SMS. SMS-based 2FA is vulnerable to SIM-swapping attacks where an attacker convinces your mobile carrier to port your number to their device, then receives the SMS codes. Use a YubiKey for the highest tier of accounts; phishing-resistant FIDO2 keys are an order of magnitude harder to defeat than authenticator apps. Keep two separate wallets at minimum: a "hot wallet" for daily DeFi activity holding limited funds, and a "cold wallet" (hardware-secured) holding long-term savings that rarely transacts. Compromise of the hot wallet should not cascade. Maintain a separate email address used only for crypto exchange accounts, with no other usage. This reduces the surface area for credential stuffing and targeted phishing.