Forta is a distributed, community-based monitoring network for real-time detection of threats and anomalies on DeFi, NFT, governance, bridges, and other Web3 systems. Given timely and relevant alerts about the security and health of owned or dependent systems, protocols and investors can react quickly to neutralize threats and prevent or minimize the loss of funds. Forta consists of a decentralized network of independent node operators that scans all transactions and block-by-block state changes for anomalous transactions and threats. When a problem is detected, node operators send potential risk alerts to subscribers, enabling them to take action. With Forta, developers can build detection bots and machine learning models and run them on the distributed Forta network to spot unusual activity for every blockchain transaction.

The Forta network has two main components, detection bots and scanning nodes. A detection bot is a piece of logic (script) that looks for certain transaction characteristics or state changes of a smart contract (such as anomaly detection) on any supported chain. Nodes run detection bots for each transaction block. When a robot detects a specific condition or event, the network sends out an alert, which is stored on IPFS. Forta will also maintain an automated public registry of all alerts, available to anyone interested in contract security through the Forta Explorer or API. There is value in negative signals too, knowing that detection bots are running 24/7 and not triggering alarms. Forta will maintain an automated record of the detection bots run by each node for each block.