Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are presented as the new technology to stay and revolutionize all markets. From the world of music and digital art to the healthcare and fashion sector, not to mention the benefits this growing industry has brought to the financial and cryptocurrency world.
In recent times, NFTs can be seen in advertising proposals and ads and are even being integrated by significant players in the traditional financial world, such as JPMorgan, Facebook (Meta), Twitter, and others.
Even the famous Brazilian former soccer player Ronaldinho has joined the NFT fever. Releasing an exclusive collection of his most memorable moments in the field so that fans can own the highlights of his career.
However, security must be addressed in the NFT world by focusing only on the hype this new technology has caused. As we have already expressed on other occasions, digital security, more than an additional resource, must be seen as an inherent necessity in this new digital world.
The immense universe of NFTs
To first understand what Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are and then talk about the security around them, it is essential to know all the characters in this digital universe that has been growing exponentially in the last year.
Blockchain, an important piece in this history
Blockchain is a database distributed among nodes in a computer network. A blockchain can be public or private, depending on the needs of the person or company.
Although it is primarily known as the technology base for the existence of cryptocurrencies and, therefore, of NFTs, its use goes far beyond, revolutionizing the world of voting, healthcare, banking, e-commerce, insurance, and countless other use cases, being discovered day after day.
This massive adoption by various sectors is due to the benefits this technology brings vs. the traditional way of storing data.
- Instant availability anywhere in the world
- Free from censorship and connection failures due to its decentralization and distribution
- Speed to access and store new information
- A bit of knowledge saved cannot be altered or modified by unwanted actors
- Storage cost is drastically reduced
- Possibility of scalability
- The ability to choose whether the data is public for all (Bitcoin) or private if needed
- A level of information security never seen before.
Cryptocurrencies
Secondly, cryptocurrencies or crypto assets are just one of Blockchain's infinite applications, not the other way around. This is quite simply a form of digital money that allows people to send or receive value in the digital world through Blockchain technology.
Likewise, this form of digital money uses the same characteristics that its base technology has, ensuring:
- Low transaction costs
- Speed in transactions
- The possibility of access to unbanked people
- A lot of security
- Immutability
- Resistance to censorship
- And much more.
Note: It is worth mentioning that there is also the concept of "Token," which can be confused with the concept of cryptocurrency. However, a cryptocurrency is the native currency of a specific Blockchain, while a token is a secondary currency of a Blockchain.
NFTs
Now, we can finally explain what Non-Fungible Tokens are, a technology that unites the Blockchain universe with its immutable and verifiable records, as well as cryptocurrencies, in the world of digital property. In short, NFTs are a type of token representing the ownership of a single asset in the real or virtual world.
But, before going into a deeper explanation, let's stop for a moment to talk about the importance of the main characteristic of NFTs, "digital ownership."
First, we saw that the acronym NFT comes from the words for Non-Fungible Tokens or Non-Fungible Token. As we can see, NFTs are the union of two different concepts:
- Token: It speaks of a unit of information stored and verified in any Blockchain;
- Non-Fungible: Refers to the characteristic that two identical tokens cannot exist within the Blockchain.
The digital property problem
The digital ownership problem may go unnoticed by most readers. However, let's picture the following example:
An artist wants to make a digital work and publish it on social media. Unfortunately, you can make infinite copies of this art immediately, so the work's monetary value tends to drop to zero.
This is why the world of physical CDs – as well as the profits or royalties earned by the artists – has collapsed with the arrival of the digital era and, of course, piracy.
Let's move from the art world to video games. For example, when playing Fortnite, Minecraft, or another game, all the items you buy, build, or earn in the digital world are not really yours but of the developer company.
Once these problems are recognized, we can see that NFT technology has come to solve the problem of digital ownership. This is because, as they are stored on the Blockchain, NFTs can be freely traded by their owners.
That way, even if they make infinite copies of this digital art, only one person will truly own the work.
But then, where does the security problem in NFTs arise?
As NFTs have become high-value, high-return-on-investment (ROI) assets, an almost imperceptible problem arises in cyber attacks.
Recently, the theft of US$ 1.7 million in NFTs through the OpenSea platform was recorded through identity theft, a type of scam better known as Phishing, which consists of tricking the user by asking for info such as passwords, bank details, and other personal information.
This attack is carried out through emails or redirecting victims to fake copies of official web pages, where they request the data they want to obtain.
How does this type of fraud happen?
As a result of accessing and providing personal data in this type of fake email and platforms, the attacker was able to change the contracts that OpenSea has with its users to obtain victims' signatures and use them for their benefit without raising any alerts that the platform had been hacked.
Thus, once the signatures are validated with the apparent approval of the users, the NFTs are transferred to the respective accounts. That is where the scammer changes the addresses and reverses the movements, causing the assets to reach them.
What makes the matter even more difficult, and at the same time frustrating, is that NFTs, being protected on the Blockchain, leave all records of their movements. In other words, you can publicly view the recorded movements of the tokens on the network.
Now it's time to welcome MetaMap
Indeed, in ancient times trust depended on people, long lines, and basic information. But this reality has taken a 180-degree turn due to the protection requirements suggested by the new, challenging, and exciting world of digital commerce.
With this need, MetaMap aims to improve security conditions for all inhabitants of the world of cryptocurrencies, Metaverses, NFTs, and the entire Web 3.0 ecosystem.
With that in mind, one of our primary goals is to help verify the identity of cryptocurrency and NFT platform users within minutes. And best of all, without the need for a team of developers.
We use different tools and technologies such as facial recognition and user identity verification, video verification, IP and GPS verification, and much more. This is solely aimed at verifying its authenticity and doing its best to avoid situations that generate scenarios and problems related to fraud.
Today, the best companies decide to trust new users through complete information that allows them to guarantee the protection of all of us as part of this digital universe.
We're ready to start working with you to make the world of NFTs a frictionless experience for all businesses and end users. Get a free trial of our product.
