KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― Following an earlier report that a Malaysian man was awarded close to RM700,000 by the courts after suing Luno Malaysia, the cryptocurrency platform has issued a response to the court ruling.

In an official statement, Luno Malaysia said it was aware of the news reports on the outcome of Sessions Court Civil Suit No. BB-B52NCVC-43-08/2021 in which the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court found against Luno. It reiterates that as a regulated digital assets exchange platform registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia, Luno has always upheld the strongest level of regulatory compliance and customer security, while following strict procedures to keep cryptocurrencies safe and secure.

For this particular case which took place in 2021, Luno said the plaintiff claims that the purchase and transfer of Bitcoins took place without his knowledge and approval. They added that the plaintiff had acknowledged in evidence before the court that he had unfortunately lost control and access to his personal email account and password. In addition, his mobile device was also “hacked”.

As a result, an individual with the plaintiff’s personal information and details was able to carry out the transaction in question.

Luno added that the plaintiff acknowledged that it was his, not Luno’s responsibility to ensure the security of his email and password. Luno said similar events had also occurred on two other platforms.

In the statement, Luno elaborated, “The Luno security features in place worked as they were designed to and these transactions were only possible because an individual had access to the plaintiff’s email, password and security details (including third-party 2-factor-authentication (2FA) codes) and was able to authorise each transaction via an SMS authorisation link sent to the plaintiff’s mobile phone.

Luno nonetheless fully respects the Court’s decision, and will therefore not be making any further comment on the matter while it remains before the courts. We are in close contact with our external counsel in relation to an appeal against the decision.”

Luno reiterated that this is not an issue of safety and security of the Luno platform and it has some of the most intensive security processes in crypto as confirmed by CCData’s April 2023 ranking. It also reminded it remains the responsibility of the customer to maintain the security of their own email accounts, mobile devices and passwords.

Luno said it is committed to following strict procedures to keep its customers’ cryptocurrency safe and secure. They will also do their 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.

Luno said it will also provide customers with additional security features including trusted device security and two-factor authentication which they regularly encourage customers to use as an extra layer of protection. ― SoyaCincau