Today (15th), the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a circular to all licensed virtual asset trading platforms, systematically clarifying the standards for 'robust custody of customer virtual assets' for the first time, listing the minimum requirements and operational examples that platform operators must meet, urging operators to comprehensively review and strengthen their asset custody measures.
The Securities and Futures Commission pointed out that this move is due to recent overseas incidents of virtual asset custody vulnerabilities, resulting in significant losses of customer assets, along with the discovery of inadequacies in monitoring and protective measures during cybersecurity reviews of local platforms earlier this year.
The Securities and Futures Commission specifically pointed out that common cybersecurity vulnerabilities in international cases include: third-party wallet services being hacked, loose transaction verification processes, and insufficient access monitoring for authorized devices.
To this end, the Securities and Futures Commission has listed several good operational examples and minimum standards that operators should meet in the circular, covering responsibilities of senior management, infrastructure and operations of customer cold wallets, applications of third-party wallets, and real-time threat monitoring systems.
The Securities and Futures Commission stated that these standards will also become core regulatory requirements for virtual asset custodians in the future and will promote the establishment of a more comprehensive virtual asset custody framework in the entire market.
Dr. Yip Chi-heng, Executive Director of Intermediaries at the Securities and Futures Commission, stated: "To promote Hong Kong in establishing a competitive, sustainable, and trustworthy digital asset ecosystem, all licensed virtual asset trading platforms must prioritize the protection of customer assets."
In the context of rising global risks, these platforms can make good use of the practical guidelines from the Securities and Futures Commission to further enhance their custody service levels.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Block Tech)
Original title: (Preventing Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities! Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Clarifies Standards, Encouraging Operators to Strengthen Virtual Asset Custody Measures)
Original author: Block Sister MEL
This article titled 'Frequent Overseas Hacking Incidents, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Takes Action, New Standards for Virtual Asset Custody Fully Implemented' was first published in 'Crypto City'