Coinbase CISO Philip Martin talks passwords, keys Libra

Coinbase security chief Philip Martin has a big challenge: Explaining the fundamentals of security to customers whose financial worth absolutely depends on remembering their passwords and keeping their keys safe.

“We have the problem of a global cryptocurrency company figuring out how to talk about security, in a way that plays in Japan in San Francisco and in Europe, and across the age divide, in a way that actually resonates to the people we’re talking to,” he said.

Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency trading and payment platforms, most recently valued at around $8 billion, and supports more than a quarter million bitcoin transactions per day.

Financial companies have to deal with encryption as part of the day-to-day security duties. But at a typical bank, cryptography is often limited to two basic categories: masking personal information, like Social Security numbers, and ensuring websites are secured….