How to prevent NFT theft, according to experts
As non-fungible tokens grow in value and popularity, they have become a target for hackers and cyberthieves. Just as works of art in the real world can be stolen – and the most valuable pieces are kept under strict guard in museums – you must take steps to protect your precious NFTs in the metaverse.
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It is not very easy to steal a work of art in the real world. After all, even if you got past the armed guards at the Louvre, you’d look pretty conspicuous carrying the Mona Lisa down the streets of Paris. But since many NFTs can easily be duplicated by clicking and saving the image, it’s not so easy to prevent theft – or enforce the law when thieves steal NFTs.
What is NFT theft?
NFT theft is categorized by any unauthorized party acquiring, using or sharing an NFT they did not create or purchase the rights to, especially for profit. In other words, if someone copies an NFT and then tries to sell that copy on the blockchain, they have committed NFT theft, experts say.
It’s easy to do since you can take a screenshot of the artwork and sell it anonymously through a crypto wallet. “They’re taking the artwork from someone without authorization and making money off of it,” attorney Ashli Weiss told Built In.
Who owns NFT copyright?
However, the situation becomes cloudy when you consider that the owner of the NFT may not be the original artist. The original artist may still own the copyright to the NFT, and the person who purchased the NFT only has the rights to use it. In that case, the burden is on the original artist to enforce their copyright and prosecute.
“In a standard NFT sale, what you’re really buying is the one-of-a-kind instance of the image, with a certification of the purchase,” Adrian Lawrence, a lawyer, told Fortune. “In most cases, you don’t buy the underlying rights to exploit that work. That copyright will belong to the artist.”
Is stealing an NFT a crime?
Regardless of the owner – whether it’s the artist or the person in possession of the NFT – NFT theft is a punishable crime. However, it is only a crime if the thief uses NFTs for profit. “Show use, especially non-commercial and not-for-profit use, will not necessarily constitute infringement…While monetization [a copied NFT] putting on t-shirts, for example, would probably be,” Lawrence told Fortune.
Can my NFT be stolen?
Your NFT can be duplicated. This can be considered a form of theft or copyright infringement against the original artist. However, the digital image can also be stolen from the blockchain if you store it online.
In this case, the thief will take the NFT out of your possession, the same way they might steal bitcoin or, in the case of other financial fraud, move money out of your bank account into their own. If NFT was a video or an MP3 of music from your favorite artist, you would no longer have that to enjoy.
If the NFT was a token that gave you access to a special event, discounts or benefits, you would lose those privileges if you could no longer display the NFT in your wallet.
How buyers can prevent NFT theft
If you own NFTs, you can prevent theft by keeping your tokens in a cooler, said Ronghui Gu, co-founder of CertiK, in an article published by Cointelegraph.
In the same article, NotCommon CEO Michael Pierce suggested always buying your wallet directly from the manufacturer rather than a third party, to minimize the chances of tampering.
Furthermore, Gu recommended some typical cybersecurity best practices:
- Never click on links you don’t recognize or look suspicious when buying or selling tokens.
- Keep your online wallet passwords safe.
- Eliminate unnecessary access to your wallet.
How original artists can prevent NFT theft
If you are the original artist of an NFT, you can also take steps to prevent theft, duplication and copyright infringement. First, you want to protect your artwork. Prosecuting a thief can still be difficult, but a copyright can prevent someone from mindlessly duplicating and selling your work.
Look for services, such as those from Adobe and DeviantArt, to help you protect your art. DeviantArt Protect, for example, scans blockchains and marketplaces for instances of infringement and alerts the artists.
What should I do if my NFT is stolen?
Let’s consider a worst-case scenario: You didn’t store your NFT in a cold wallet, and now it’s stolen. Your only recourse may be to contact the original artist who can enforce their copyright. You can also contact the platform you bought the NFT on.
If you are an artist who had your NFT artwork stolen, your first move should be to issue a DMCA takedown notice. Often this threat of legal action is enough to deter thieves. If that doesn’t work, contact an intellectual property attorney to help you with your case.
