Content theft has persisted as one of the worst ills of the internet generation. Data breaches and identity thefts have always left victims with a sour taste. Bitcoin wallets have been hacked and owners' wealth stolen on several cases. Are there ways to ultimately prevent one's wallet from being hacked? Is there any way of recovering stolen funds from a hacked wallet? Are exchanges obliged to refund Bitcoins stolen from a virtual wallet?

Every hoster of virtual wallets and exchanges will always inform wallet owners of the importance of employing sometimes very basic, and at other times a bit more sophisticated measures in safeguarding their wealth. These hosts and exchanges basically provide the avenues and systems of enhancing the security of BitcoinCT r:  10 wallets, yet the buck stops with wallet owners to ensure that their wallets are secure, at least most of the time.

Nevertheless, due to one reason or another, certain individuals may have the security of their wallets breached, some people have even had some or all of their wealth stolen. Most people who have been in such a situation have barely known what next to do. Which gives rise to the question:

What do you do when your wallet is hacked?

A product manager of a hardware wallet who prefers to remain anonymous in responding to the above question says:

"Well, if a user's account and password got hacked and he/she did not have 'two factor authentication', then he/she does not have a strong position to talk to his/her exchange but I think such a user could at least try to do the blockchain analysis"

The source continued by saying that such analysis would reveal if the hacked coins passed through a certain exchange, at which point the user can make a report to the police, knowing that most exchanges do comply with authorities.

In conclusion, our source said:

"Hacking is a criminal offence in most jurisdictions, so I guess if any user's computer or account got compromised, such a user could report to police."

What are the chances of getting your stolen Bitcoins back?

Roman Mandeleil is the CEO and founder of ether.camp. Roman states that in the history of Bitcoin, 99% of stolen coins were never returned, saying that the bulk of the responsibility of keeping one's wealth secure lies in the hands of the wallet owner.

Asked about what necessary steps users should take to ensure the safety of their wealth, he responded as follows:

"Don't give your private key to anybody nor website or a person, keep it encrypted on your personal domain that would be secured enough."