Kraken
Security Labs
Kraken is the most secure digital asset exchange because we live and breathe security – in fact, we have multiple world-class teams dedicated to testing our products and services.
However secure we might be, though, we know our success is linked to the success of others within the cryptocurrency community.
Kraken
Security Labs
That’s why we created Kraken Security Labs, an elite team of security researchers that aims to protect and grow the cryptocurrency ecosystem by:
Testing common third-party products and services
Working with vendors to fix those issues
Informing the public about ways they can best protect themselves
A Commitment to Responsible Disclosure
When a security researcher finds a vulnerability, the best practice is to contact the vendor so the vendor can fix the issue.
While simple in theory, many issues can arise in practice:
What if the affected vendor doesn’t respond?
Maybe the vendor doesn’t want to acknowledge the issue or they do not have a bug bounty program.
How long should the vendor be given to fix the issue?
Some security issues are not easy to fix and vendors often want to prioritize new features instead of fixing problems.
Should the researcher disclose the issue to the public and, if so, when?
Every white-hat hacker worries the issue they’ve found is already known and being exploited by the bad guys. Every moment a vendor hasn’t released a fix is a moment that the public is in the dark and isn’t armed with the knowledge to protect themselves. Public disclosure is the only leverage researchers have to pressure a vendor to fix the issue.
Simply put, disclosing vulnerabilities responsibly means something different to everyone – it’s inherently difficult to balance the needs of vendors and users.
We strongly believe it’s essential for research teams like us to partner with vendors to fix issues in their products and disclose them to the public.
In pursuit of that goal, Kraken Security Labs has disclosed and worked with vendors to fix issues across a wide range of cryptocurrency products and services. The details of our vulnerability disclosure policy are published here.
Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets
We don’t think you should store all of your funds on any exchange, including ours.
That’s why we regularly purchase and test products that provide customers with the ability to store and self-custody their crypto assets.
We’ve published issues and advisories for the following products:
Cryptocurrency Services
At Kraken, we encourage all our clients to test and verify any cryptocurrency service they might decide to trust with their funds or data.
We’ve published issues and advisories for the following services:
Our Disclosure Philosophy
Hearing conflicting reports about a Kraken Security Labs disclosure?
Know it’s common for vendors and researchers to disagree on the severity of an issue.
Put simply, researchers want their work to have maximum impact, while vendors typically want to downplay the extent of the issue.
Interpreting Severity
Security vulnerabilities are typically given a severity range from Low to Critical, but not all vulnerabilities disclosed by Kraken Security Labs or other researchers will be Critical.
Still, we believe it is crucial these faults be exposed.
Even a handful of low, medium and high severity vulnerabilities might be used by an attacker in a coordinated way to result in a big impact to the target device.
Compounding Benefits
Releasing these findings can power additional work.
It’s common for security researchers to build upon the work of others, to release issues that should be fixed but don’t allow full compromise and to release research that the vendor doesn’t immediately think is worth fixing.
Because of this, it would not be responsible for a security researcher to remain quiet because they did not find an issue of Critical severity.
We strive to put out disclosures that are as understandable and transparent as possible to the public, so that you can make informed choices as to the severity of the issue.
A Stronger Industry Together
It’s not just Kraken who believes the industry is stronger and more secure when research teams and vendors work together.
As you can see from the testimonials below, Kraken Security Labs is aligned with the values and needs of the cryptocurrency industry.
We are happy that Kraken Security Labs are investing their resources in improving the security of the whole Bitcoin ecosystem. We cherish this kind of responsible disclosure and cooperation.
CoolBitX extends our warmest thanks to the Kraken Security Labs team for scrutinizing the resilience of the CoolWallet S’s security processes in such great detail. Providing such a fresh and expert perspective on possible attack vectors and device vulnerabilities is invaluable to our team and the community we serve.
We'd also like to take a moment to thank Kraken for their incredible work. We deeply appreciate the similar position they take as our own Ledger Donjon team: doing our part to enhance the security of the entire cryptocurrency industry.
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