Shield, supported by A16z, attempts to safeguard Web3 and blockchain technology. The startup assesses the security of the Web3 initiative.
Emmanuel Udotong, the startup’s co-founder, explained that “What we do is certify the security standards of Web3 projects to help build more trust across the space, and help end users understand which projects they can trust”
Shield rates the security of these projects in order to notify Web3 clients.
On a call, Emmanuel, who co-founded the company with his brother, Isaiah Udotong, and Luis Carchi, described a person who wants a Web3 wallet but isn’t sure which one are the most safe. Customers can view Shield’s position.
The 2022 startup that participated in a16z’s Crypto Startup School curriculum hopes to improve Web3 security.
The founding team is securing Web3 platforms by leveraging their privacy and cybersecurity skills. CTO Carchi formerly worked as a Facebook product developer. Emmanuel has worked with McKinsey, large banks, and telecommunications companies on cybersecurity and risk engagements.
Isaiah investigated the security protocols of crypto companies. According to Emmanuel, most security organisations overlook growth skills, yet all three co-founders have them.
Their NFT effort, Ancient Warriors, reportedly made $500,000. It was their first Web3 project.
Emmanuel suggested using Web3 to learn to market and gain confidence.
“We’ve been able to combine those two things in a really interesting way to create a unique product that we haven’t seen before on the market,” he explained.
Read also: Adaverse joins Bitmama Web3’s pre-seed round
About Web3 security
Security problems have plagued Web3. CertiK, a blockchain auditing and security business, reported that Web3 projects lost $2 billion to hackers in the first half of 2022.
Many cryptocurrency and Web3 projects and users lose a lot of money annually due to phishing schemes and attacks.
Emmanuel also cited Euler Finance, a DeFi protocol company, which lost $197 million to a flash loan attack in March 2023.
He said people focus on why these assaults happened rather than how to prevent them.
Shield intends to discover Web3 project security concerns proactively
The startup does this by gathering project security data. It creates a security Yelp for all Web3 projects, except instead of crowdsourcing security ratings, a team of professionals executes them.
The Shield team conducts security assessments manually by interviewing project owners.
However, with $2 million from Ventures, Eterna Capital, Alchemy, and Moonpay, the business hopes to automate the examination.
Shield assesses Web3 projects’ security for a fee. The startup believes most of its customers are pre-seed startups.
It also secures non-paying Web3 protocols. Emmanuel said that it has over 150 non-paying platforms, including popular ones like NFT Marketplace, Rarible, and Fox Sports.
He added these sites trust Shield to expose security vulnerabilities because breaches damage well-known businesses.
Although Shield intends to maintain transparency in the space by making information about the security of Web3 platforms publicly available for potential users, getting paid by the projects it is assessing raises a concern—how do potential customers trust that Shield is completely transparent about its security assessment of the platforms?
Shield is switching to automated audits because credibility is vital to Emmanuel. One method is zero-knowledge proof.
He noted that the system shows users that all companies undergo the same testing, making security results reliable.
The $2 million will fund Shield’s technology and team growth.