Pointers at Glance
- Innovators are diving into an immersive and new virtual space, but with new technology comes new threats.
- The possible problematic issues that metaverse pioneers should be wary of are explained in this article.
Metaverse is a multi-vendor, cloud-distributed, immersive-interactive operating environment that users can access through various categories of connected devices. It uses Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies to impart an interactive layer on top of the existing Internet. It is an open platform for playing and working inside an extended reality environment. Metaverse will also be a communications layer for smart city devices.
Identifying cyber threats for a space that does not fully exist yet and may not even be realized in the form that we envision is challenging. But, analyzing the nature of the technology and considering the current cybercriminal landscape, several critical threats against and inside the metaverse are conceptualized. A few use cases of such threats are explained below.
Threats To Specialists Operating IIoT Machinery Virtually
Specialist operators can operate industrial equipment thousands of miles away as the equipment is connected and accessible through custom metaverse space interfaces.
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Possible Attacks
- Traditional IT Attacks: Vulnerability exploits can be utilized to access industrial equipment. Lateral movement will be possible after initial entry due to the interconnected nature of the metaverse.
- Cyber-physical Threats: Man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks between remote operators and industrial equipment.
- VR/AR/MR/XR Threats: Criminals can utilize a digital twin of an industrial facility to preplan physical attacks.
Threats To Gamers & Buyers
Companies will develop bodysuits that allow users to control or feel things inside the metaverse physically. These suits can be used in games or as an extension for theme parks and other experience industries.
Possible Attacks
- Privacy Concerns: The suits will access a wide range of biometric data that could be misused.
- Cyber-physical Threats: An attacker can hack the bodysuits and aim them to malfunction, endangering the user. For instance, stroboscopic light effects inside the headset display could cause epilepsy or seizures.
- VR/AR/MR/XR Threats: Criminals can gain access to bodysuits and monitor the actions of users.
Threats To Virtual Art Collectors & Sellers
Since physical laws that control the real world do not exist in the metaverse, artists will be able to design extraordinary art pieces. Selling, Buying, and Trading these pieces will be a large business.
Possible Attacks
- Financial Fraud: Fraudsters may facilitate selling counterfeit or stolen artwork in the metaverse.
- NFT Threats: The owner can be blocked from accessing the asset if NFT data files are encrypted in a ransomware attack.
- VR/AR/MR/XR Threats: Scammers could create fake metaverse galleries displaying and selling counterfeit art.
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