How to secure NFTs?

What are NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)

An NFT is a one-of-a-kind virtual asset that cannot be replaced (not even with another of equal value). It is impossible for anything or anyone to duplicate it.

This distinguishes it from both physical and digital money. After all, while bills and cryptocurrencies have distinct markings, they all function in the same way.

It's a fantastic and ground-breaking concept with a lot of possibilities for most creatives. This is why it is so well-liked among artists. The New York Times reported on a $69 million sale of a tokenized JPG as an illustration of this.

The art sector is one of the most targeted by thieves because of the "huge money" hype.

Are NFTs Secure? Or can they be Stolen?

NFTs are secure, but they can still be stolen, just like your bank credentials. Why?

Each person is granted a private key to handle the digital wallet's ownership. You keep it private and then resell NFTs using it. This is where we identify the first weak point. To link to NFT assets, blockchain-encrypted web addresses have been and continue to be used.

This is due to the fact that the records aren't large enough to store the entire image file. As a result, you (the NFT buyer) will receive links to real websites rather than a token representing the asset.

The NFT's value would vanish in the event of an internet breach or if the marketplace went out of business, according to the second vulnerable point.

Because of the lack of robust regulation (which, after all, is what gave birth to blockchain technology), it's also difficult to verify that compromising data isn't sold to the highest bidder, as happened on CoinDesk when someone tried to sell an NFT collection containing a zero-day exploit.

Weeks after the large Beeple's sale, Nifty Giveaway received reports of accounts being compromised, usually via phishing and for not having 2FA enabled.

Once inside, the thieves used the bank information to either buy new artwork for themselves or steal the ones that were already on the account. It's also nearly impossible to reverse the transaction due to the nature of Blockchain.

Of course, the companies that support them have well-protected cybersecurity infrastructures. As a result, your odds of getting your goal are slim, and they are largely dependent on you.

How to Protect your NFTs

Although blockchain technology has a lot of potentials to become the primary safe enabler for financial transactions, it is undeniably vulnerable.

What options do you have?

If users receive any unauthorized device or access notices from the platforms regarding any access or logins to their wallets, they should act quickly.

Adding Protection Layers: To begin, store the NFT in a hardware wallet (or distributing many among different ones). If available, enable Two-factor authentication(2FA) and any other additional security settings.

Check Your Assets Usually: Once you realize that NFT marketplaces are frequently the subject of massive phishing, denial of service, and ransomware attacks, you'll understand why it's critical to keep an eye on this long-term investment.

Zero-Trust Security and Network Monitoring: The first is perfect for limiting the amount of privileged users who have access to your assets if there are more than one person involved. You can also utilize monitoring technologies to detect any exfiltration concerns ahead of time.

Can you imagine what would happen if your NFTs were stolen?

Hundreds of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of money would be lost as a result. It is necessary to follow these steps to ensure the security of your NFTs.