CVA’s Cybersecurity Group Unveils New Guidelines for Protecting Digital Assets

New Guidelines Designed to Set Best Practices for Key Ceremonies and Broaden Accessibility of Crypto Assets.
New Guidelines Designed to Set Best Practices for Key Ceremonies and Broaden Accessibility of Crypto Assets.

Switzerland, July 6th, 2020 — The Crypto Valley Association (CVA), the leading global cryptocurrency and blockchain technology ecosystem, has announced the publication of its Trusted Key Ceremony Guidelines – an initiative from CVA's Cybersecurity Working Group which aims to improve awareness of the importance of protecting digital assets in a safe and secure way.

The guidelines, designed to showcase best practices for safe and secure ‘key ceremonies’, will be officially unveiled during the ‘Demystifying Key Ceremonies’ free online event presented by the CVA’s Cybersecurity Working Group, taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, July 7th at 17:00 CET. With contributors including security experts from digital asset custody technology providers such as Taurus Group and Ledger Vault, auditing firms such as PwC, leading blockchain organizations and financial institutions such as SEBA Bank, the event will provide a venue for the exploration of best practices that have defined the Crypto Valley’s emergence as a leading cryptocurrency and blockchain hub. The guidelines have been informed by the extensive experience of Working Group Members pertaining to the design, operation, and reviewing of key ceremonies for regulated institutional firms.

Commenting on the announcement, Markus Perdrizat, Chair of Cybersecurity Working Group at CVA and Head Blockchain Risk Assurance at PwC Switzerland said, “With more and more financial assets locked up in cryptocurrencies, the need for a set of best practice standards regarding key ceremonies for cryptocurrencies has never been more pronounced. Ultimately, the security of financial assets begins with the key ceremony – when the cryptographic secrets are created. From that point forward, the highest standards of security must be upheld. To this end, we are delighted to officially unveil our new guidelines to the world.”

The mission of CVA’s Cybersecurity Working Group is to define and drive the adoption of security standards and best practices for blockchain projects, to provide a forum for Swiss-based blockchain security product and service companies, and to promote their adoption on the global market.

The CVA key ceremony guidelines were collected and edited by Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Head of Security at Taurus Group and Maria Sommerhalder, Crypto Custody expert at PwC Switzerland, with contributions from the CVA Cybersecurity working group members.

Emi Lorincz, Board Member at the Crypto Valley Association said, “The CVA Cybersecurity Working Group is firmly committed to setting the highest security standards and best practices with regard to product development, security audits, and key management within the blockchain and crypto realm. The publication of the Trusted Key Ceremony Guidelines gives expression to this ongoing effort and captures the far-reaching ambition of the CVA to strengthen security levels in the crypto assets space more broadly, and to extend the accessibility of crypto assets.”

The online event will be moderated by Emi Lorincz who will receive the following panelists: Charles Guillemet, Chief Technology Officer at Ledger; Maria Sommerhalder, Senior Associate of Emerging Technologies Risk Assurance at PwC Switzerland; Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Head of Security at Taurus Group and Co-Chair of Cybersecurity Working Group at CVA; and Vassili Lavrov, Head of Blockchain Program Management at SEBA Bank.

“Traditionally there have been many ways to create private keys, and up until now, there has been no clear set of standards or guidelines. The siloed approach generally adopted by practitioners, opens up many potential attack vectors that undermine the security of assets. By leveraging the deep insights and ceremonial acumen of our Cybersecurity Working Group, we have collated what we consider to be the best practices for new entrants and experienced practitioners in the space to create safe and secure key ceremonies, while also providing a framework to improve existing processes. We look forward to discussing the content of this new publication in more detail during our online event and encourage people to attend,” concluded Perdrizat.

To register for the event, please visit: https://members.cryptovalley.swiss/events/37463.

The CVA key ceremony guidelines will be available for download on June 07, 05:00 PM CET, at https://members.cryptovalley.swiss/news/297452.

Markus Perdrizat, Chair of the Cybersecurity Working Group at CVA and Emi Lorincz, Board Member at the Crypto Valley Association, are available for interviews.

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About Crypto Valley Association

Founded in January 2017, the Crypto Valley Association is a not-for-profit association established to support the development and dissemination of cryptographic technologies, blockchain, and other distributed ledger technologies by supporting startups and other companies in Switzerland and internationally. Crypto Valley’s mission is to shape an open, free, and prosperous financial services industry of the future.