KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd said a court decision this week against the cryptocurrency platform does not reflect a lapse in its safety and security measures.
The Sessions Court had on Wednesday awarded some RM700,000 to a businessman, Yew See Tak, who had sued Luno for negligence after losing about RM600,000 in cryptocurrencies due to a hacking incident. Judge Sazlina Safie held that Yew had proven his claim against Luno based on the balance of probabilities.
In a statement on Friday, Luno said it respects the court’s decision, and is in contact with its lawyers in relation to an appeal against the decision.
The company added: “This is not an issue of the safety and security of the Luno platform. Luno has some of the most intensive security processes in crypto, as confirmed by an April 2023 ranking by CCData, but it necessarily remains the responsibility of the customer to maintain the security of their own email accounts, mobile devices and passwords.”
Luno noted that Yew had alleged that the unauthorised Bitcoin transactions on the Luno platform occurred without his knowledge or approval.
“In evidence before the court, the plaintiff acknowledged that, unfortunately, he had lost control and access to his personal email account and password and that his mobile device was hacked. As a result, an individual with the plaintiff’s personal information and details was able to carry out the transactions in question,” said Luno.
The cryptocurrency platform also noted that there were similar incidents reported on two other platforms.
"Luno's security measures operated as intended, with the transactions only possible due to the unauthorised access to the plaintiff's email, password and security details, including third-party 2-factor-authentication (2FA) codes. Each transaction was authorised via an SMS link sent to the plaintiff's mobile phone," the company added.
Stressing that it is committed to follow strict procedures to keep its customers’ cryptocurrencies safe and secure, Luno said: “We do our utmost to educate customers on the importance of vigilance in managing personal data and offer a range of educational materials to help customers maintain proper password health.
“We also provide all customers with a number of additional security features, such as trusted device security and two-factor authentication, and we regularly encourage customers to use these additional layers of account protection.”