As the cryptocurrency sector has grown, it's unfortunately become a target for malicious actors, including hackers, scammers, and fraudulent operators. As such, there are some risks associated with holding crypto. However, these risks can be mitigated with some understanding of the kinds of tactics that malicious actors use, and how you can protect yourself against them.

Social Engineering

Delegating is an easy way for any DHP holder to participate in securing the dHealth network and earn rewards through staking. Unlike becoming a Validator, there are low technical barriers to entry for Delegators. Delegators play an important role in safeguarding the network, by choosing Validators who behave in the best interests of the network. Delegators who stake tokens to the best-performing Validators will be best rewarded. Conversely, if a Delegator backs a Validator who misbehaves, the Validator gets slashed and the Delegator loses a share of their stake.

In the context of cybersecurity, social engineering attacks are ones that exploit our human vulnerabilities to launch an attack. Anywhere you have an inbox or can be contacted socially is a potential platform for attackers to attempt to launch social engineering attacks. The most common type of social engineering attack is phishing. Typically, the attacker will contact potential victims posing as a legitimate third party, and ask questions designed to gain access to passwords, private keys, or other information that would allow them to steal funds.

There are literally thousands of ways that attackers attempt phishing attacks, but often they play to our base instincts – by telling someone they've won something, or telling them they're about to lose something.

Here are a few basic measures that can help keep you safe:

• Never open attachments from people you don't know and never open links in emails from sources you don't trust. Attachments can install spyware or other kinds of malware on your computers. Links can take you to compromised sites that may attempt to steal sensitive information from your computer.
• Make sure you always install updates to apps, browsers, and your device operating systems when they're available. They often include important security updates designed to protect against attacks.
• Never buy DHP from untrusted sources and always do your due diligence before buying DHP from any seller or venue.
• If you ever receive an offer that sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Remember that no reputable agent will ever ask you to disclose your private keys or passwords.

Key Management

You will need a suitable storage solution for your DHP tokens, along with a means of backup. The safest way to store private keys is offline, either using a crypto wallet, or on paper or a device that never connects to the internet. Ideally, you should keep multiple copies. Some crypto users also invest in a way to protect against disasters such as fire.

Never, ever share your mnemonic/private keys with anyone. You don't need to share your mnemonic/private keys to delegate your DHP to a Validator on dHealth.