Metaverse is no more a new word for anyone. It was in the summer of 2021 the term metaverse was first introduced. Ever since Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of social media giant to Meta, the terminology has gained major traction in the technology world. By changing its name, the Facebook CEO focused on developing a future of social, business, leisure, and cultural environment.
In such a short span of time, the tech term went from being barely talked about in the public sphere to developing one of the most popular search terms.
Google Trends, a service analyzer tracking the popularity of top search queries in Google Search, expressed that the term ‘Metaverse’ has gained 100% popularity at the beginning of this year compared to 2021. This is, for sure, turning Metaverse into one of the most remarkable inventions in the technology world today.
People started preferring virtual social interaction during the pandemic due to the social distancing norm. This is also one reason why the concept is gaining much traction faster. After the widespread adoption, its impact on human beings and the social aspect of life will be massive. It brings together virtual and augmented reality to give users more interactive and real-world experiences.
Threats involved in Metaverse
Metaverse is not different, as new technology always brings new concerns and problems. It comes with its own set of cybersecurity challenges. As this technology promises a new future in multiple dimensions, many security concerns need to be considered before implementing the Metaverse.
1. Protecting an individual’s virtual identity
While entering the Metaverse, everyone holds their key identity in the virtual world. There needs to be a mechanism to prove this individual identity as one enters the metaverse environment. Also, no measures define how to prevent spoofing in the Metaverse.
The physical representation of each person in the virtual world is called an Avatar. It is still unclear or rarely defined laws on how Avatar as an identity will be protected in the Metaverse.
2. Laws and regulations
While discussing laws and regulations, no information is available on handling crimes in the Metaverse. Like physical courts, will there be courts in the Metaverse too to deal with the unwanted activities? No steps are initiated to deal with law-related aspects in the Metaverse.
3. Protection from malware
So far, no security framework has been defined to protect Metaverse from malware. Security experts should design more formalized security standards to safeguard Metaverse from malware as new technology.
4. Data protection
It is still unclear whether a user’s data is protected in the Metaverse. There is no assurance that sensitive and personalized information remains intact if an attacker tries to extract data by any chance.
5. Protecting intellectual property
Protecting intellectual property is a critical task in the physical and virtual worlds. Securing it in the Metaverse will be a more tedious and challenging task. Internet Protocol (IPs) in the physical world are protected in law by patenting, copyrighting, or trademarking it, allowing people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. Maintaining similar norms in the Metaverse will truly be a challenging task for security experts.
6. Technology related threats
Technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are the key elements of the Metaverse. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that facilitates own digital goods in a virtual world. Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual coin secured by cryptography. In Metaverse, people can showcase their digital forms of art and property in NFTs, used to put a value on that content with proof of ownership.
No rules have been defined yet to protect all these technologies related activities in the Metaverse.
Steps as a solution
Metaverse is currently a free world with no censorship rules unless governments regulate it. Governments, therefore, need to come to action to put regulations to ensure proper conduct on the platform. The participation of government bodies will help regulate all the unwanted activities in the Metaverse, including theft, cyberstalking, harassment, etc. Hence, safeguarding Metaverse is possible only if the government extends its helping hand to existing internet controls to the Metaverse.
A single user cannot protect the entire Metaverse. However, using security tools can help boost anonymity and make the digital space safe for the user. Implementing security tools can at least ensure some form of safety and relaxation.
Investing in security tools like proxies to boost Metaverse security can be a good idea. The tool ensures that the connection on the Metaverse remains private. It will also make it easier to seal the security holes resulting from an increased attack surface.
Also, the companies providing Metaverse services should start investing in user education. Such actions will ensure that the user is aware of the risks involved in the Metaverse. Thus, users can stay safe and alert while using the platform.
Exclusive news
Recently Facebook CEO introduced a mandatory distance formula between people’s digital avatars. Social media giant took the step after a user reported an incident of online harassment in Metaverse.
The incident came to light when a user testing Horizon Worlds, a Virtual Reality (VR) app owned by Meta business, complained of being groped online. After the act, the user commented: “Sexual harassment is no joke on the regular internet but being in VR adds another layer that makes the event more intense.”
To this, Meta reported that the victim was not through with all the ins and outs of the system. The company is now making the ‘personal boundary’ bubbles option a default one so that users do not need to turn it on every time.
It will be available on both VR apps – Horizon Worlds, where people can meet fellow VR users and design their world, and Horizon Venues, an app that hosts VR events such as comedy shows or music gigs. The company said the distance between people will be two feet in either direction or four virtual feet between avatars, which will prevent other people from getting too close.
Even though the users will not disable the barrier, they can fist-bump or high-five other users. Further updates in the platform could include adjusting the size of the radius by the users.
Also, if another user tries to walk or teleport within one personal space, their forward motion will automatically stop. It also allows a user to move past another avatar, so someone can’t use their bubble to trap the user in a virtual space.
Conclusion
Thus, managing the security of the new environment lies completely in the hands of the companies involved with the Metaverse. With the help of authenticators, they will have to find a way of stopping cheating and fraud in the Metaverse for the betterment of the users.
Like in every other digital space, authentication regarding cybersecurity is important in the Metaverse too. As techniques evolve each day, businesses will always have to step one foot forward against cybercriminals. As the technologies keep growing, the cybersecurity race for all the fields will become even more intense.
Moving forward, some questions still remain unanswered, like what will happen to the cheaters? Will it be possible to monitor users to remove possible illegal operations, hate speech, and morally corrupt conduct? Who will take charge of the criminal activities – private companies themselves or some governmental cyber-police?
Wishing to find answers to all these questions soon. The metaverse community and the cybersecurity providers need to pull up their socks and prepare themselves for the undefined virtual world queries.
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