AI Makes Crypto Hacking Easier and Cheaper, Security Expert Warns

Crypto investors face a new threat: artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever for hackers to steal digital money.

Charles Guillemet, the technology chief at Ledger (a company that makes crypto wallets - secure devices for storing digital money), warns that AI tools are changing the game for cybercriminals. "Finding vulnerabilities and exploiting them becomes really, really easy," he told CoinDesk. "The cost is going down to zero."

### The Growing Problem

The numbers are alarming: • $1.4 billion in crypto was stolen or lost to hackers in the past year • Just this week, hackers stole $285 million from a platform called Drift • A week earlier, another attack cost investors $25 million

### Why AI Makes It Worse

Traditionally, hacking required skilled programmers spending months to find weaknesses in computer systems. Now, AI can do this work in seconds. It's like giving burglars a master key that opens any lock.

The problem gets worse because many developers now use AI to write their code (the instructions that make software work). If the AI makes mistakes, those security flaws can spread quickly across many platforms.

### What This Means for You

If you own cryptocurrency (digital money like Bitcoin or Ethereum), this news means you need to be extra careful. Security experts recommend: • Using hardware wallets (physical devices) to store crypto offline • Being skeptical of new platforms promising high returns • Assuming that any online system could eventually be hacked

As Guillemet warns crypto developers: "You need to be perfect." In a world where AI helps hackers, one small mistake can cost millions.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/04/05/ai-is-making-crypto-s-security-problem-even-worse-ledger-cto-warns