Crypto Custodian Breach: 7 Critical Steps in an Institutional Response Plan
Shailaja Korra
Detect suspicious activity - Monitor wallets, authentication systems and transaction flows continuously to identify unauthorised access, abnormal behaviour or suspicious transfers quickly.
Activate incident response - Immediately establish an incident team, define responsibilities and begin coordinated containment procedures across security, operations, compliance and management teams.
Contain compromised systems - Restrict affected wallets, accounts, credentials and transaction channels to prevent attackers from extending access or transferring additional assets.
Secure remaining assets - Assess wallet exposure and protect unaffected holdings through controlled asset segregation, credential rotation and strengthened transaction authorisation procedures.
Trace stolen funds - Use blockchain analytics and wallet attribution tools to track suspicious transactions, identify destinations and support potential recovery efforts.
Preserve forensic evidence - Secure logs, access records and transaction evidence while maintaining documented chain-of-custody procedures for subsequent investigation and regulatory review.
Notify relevant stakeholders - Inform clients, regulators, law enforcement and counterparties according to applicable requirements, while clearly separating confirmed facts from ongoing findings.
Restore secure operations - Rebuild affected systems, rotate secrets and credentials, verify attacker removal and introduce enhanced monitoring before fully restoring operations.
Review and strengthen controls - Conduct a post-incident review, identify control gaps and update custody, key-management, transaction-authorisation and third-party risk procedures