Towards More Secure Interactions: Understanding User Experience and Behaviour in the NFT Domain

Abstract

This study investigates the human errors that enable hackers to exploit and carry out social engineering attacks on the non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem. The aim is to improve the design of decentralized applications that use NFTs to help non-technical users follow security best practices and address remaining user-side vulnerabilities. The study methods included a survey examining participants’ expertise regarding NFTs and cybersecurity, a remote security usability study investigating the pain points and common security best practices and a follow-up interview to examine participants’ experience with a crypto wallet configuration. The results show how human cognitive bias affects users’ decision to be cautious, users’ difficulty with security methods, and improvements to lessen users’ cognitive load. As NFTs expand beyond the cryptocurrency circle, multiple scams and thefts arise due to late adopters not knowing the security best practices. Therefore, increasing the public’s NFT security awareness is key to mitigating potential threats.