The Metaverse left its backdoor open!
Addressing certain security risks and solutions for the Metaverse.
We have now entered a new frontier of technological advancement.
The Metaverse, an original concept from Neal Stephenson’s novel, “Snow Crash” published in 1992, has now become a reality as this online virtual world where everyone can interact and escape the “unpleasantness of meatspace,” as described by the author himself; and everyone is getting in on the action and the excitement of it.
And it could be anything, as long as it falls under certain criteria:
- It functions as a video game,
- It involves Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, or Mixed Reality,
- It includes 3D avatars which you may call it your own virtual self,
- This world is a sandbox type of environment, or an open world environment if you will,
- You can interact with people, objects, and make an exchange of goods using NFTs or cryptocurrencies
But there is one important criteria that the metaverse needs to consider — its security.
Security is a big issue in the metaverse that should be addressed. If you can think of the metaverse as another world altogether, think of implementing a secure metaverse platform as you would set up a strong security system in your own home or office. As the boundaries between real life and virtual life have become increasingly blurred, a secure metaverse requires cybersecurity surveillance and regulations of privacy. It also involves the proper implementation of user-interactive security protocols. For instance, a metaverse developer might include an exclamation mark above the avatar’s head to indicate verification of their identity. Something along the line of a 2-step verification protocol before proceeding into the metaverse.
Although 52% of U.S. gamers believe the Metaverse will change the gaming industry according to VentureBeat, the majority believe strong security should be considered. And here are some solutions I would suggest:
To make the experience more comfortable for users to use their headsets longer, headsets should be developed to offer higher resolution displays, faster refresh rates, and a wider field of view with great focal distance displays (Biener et al., 2022). Warning labels should be implemented in all headsets, and each game should have health and safety guidelines, informing and encouraging metaverse users to play for only a limited time to avoid nausea, motion sickness, and anxiety.
Other metaverse security concerns involve establishing a zero-trust model, enforcing rigorous identity verification, and ongoing authentication. This approach would minimize data theft and protect sensitive information. Artificial Intelligence would have to be depended on for this model, to analyze user behavior and help develop robust cybersecurity tools. Additional tools should be considered as well to protect headset users from cybercriminals who could access their avatar data or even worse data from their neural systems, as we may be approaching a frontier where we could utilize our brain — or our minds if you will — to control our environment at will within the next 4–5 years.
Users will also benefit from security training and education programs to spot suspicious activities. Companies like Meta who are adopting a metaverse work environment would have to train their employees on how to protect themselves in the virtual world against all kind of criminal activities that are already done in the real world. After all, just because the metaverse has the characteristics of an open world video game, it does not mean one has the freedom to do whatever they want.
Metaverse security can further be strengthened by the use of biometrics. For example, AR headsets could include fingerprint or iris readers. However, users should be sure that biometric data is used only with their consent. Otherwise, biometric data silos could become targets for future attacks. If biometric data gets set within the Metaverse, it should get additional protection with strong authentication protocols.
Despite the hype surrounding the metaverse, it may not be easy to monitor your surrounding and stay vigilant, as fraudsters pretending to be legitimate businesses could easily target you; furthermore, the decentralized metaverse system would make it difficult for users to detect and resolve cyber-attacks issues. Unless these issues are dealt with, companies may be reluctant to use the metaverse.
Again, consider the protection of users’ digital identities. The metaverse profile contains much more personal information than a normal account and will contain sensitive data. They are not to be considered some video game characters’ imaginative data just because the metaverse user appears as one. The avatar’s data information is as vital as the user’s identity behind it. A hack over that avatar would be similar to identity theft. So to ensure the security of this vital information, users must prevent those who would want to use their identities to manipulate the system. This is where blockchain technology can come in handy.
Metaverse security and privacy concerns can be addressed in several ways. One simple way is to prohibit users from entering the metaverse. Although this approach is crude and invasive, it does provide an initial solution to the problem. The next step is to develop and implement other methods to protect users from unauthorized access.
Metaverse companies will have to collect tracking and identification data from virtual headsets. This is important as it enables cyber actors to impersonate users and steal sensitive information. In addition, the data on these virtual headsets can also be used to carry out fraudulent financial transactions.
Concluding this topic on cybersecurity and the metaverse, it is vital to note that as the Metaverse merges the real world with virtual reality, it is becomes an ideal target for hackers. Cybercrimes have already begun exploring this space and are making it an increasingly lucrative target. As virtual experiences continue to become more consumer-oriented, the stakes for cybercrime will only increase. And the higher the stakes for cybercrime, the greater security we need to implement.
So when you think about developing your own virtual world, or your own metaverse if you will, think about protecting it as you would protect your own home and office from criminals. Discuss this with any cybersecurity folks in your company and field of work. You will be glad you did.
Oh, and please lock your doors!
