The Sandbox Brings on Security Firm BrandShield to Prevent Rising NFT Fraud

Metaverse gaming firm The Sandbox has hired BrandShield, an online threat detection company, to ensure the safety of crypto wallets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its marketplace.

The Sandbox allows users to monetize their activity on blockchain-based virtual lands. However, NFT projects and communities have faced several exploits and frauds in the past few months, which has increased the need for more vigilance.

“In the open metaverse, users should be able to enjoy their true digital ownership rights and have new ways to create, store and trade value while having fun rather than having to worry about online threats,” Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer of The Sandbox, said in an email.

“With its ability to monitor and protect against these attacks, BrandShield is a strategic partner to help identify faster and take down phishing attacks and various online threats from brand impersonators and bad actors,” Borget added.

BrandShield analyses and classifies various threats to eliminate attacks on crypto wallets. It also evaluates threat levels from different digital entities and platforms, such as websites and NFT marketplaces, to find threats that would otherwise be undetectable by traditional cybersecurity technology.

In March and April, BrandShield neutralized 120 phishing sites and 58 fake social media accounts impersonating the metaverse platform, allowing The Sandbox’s economy to operate securely, The Sandbox said.

Meanwhile, Borget told CoinDesk that The Sandbox will also start educating its users about fraud prevention methods.

“Our primary focus is on educating our community and guiding them through our community managers and customer support,” he said. “Since the wallet is where their identification and ownership are stored, not on our servers, we must provide best practices and guidelines for our players and creators so they can remain vigilant against all external threats."