Metaverse became a frenzy right after Facebook announced the rebranding of its name as Meta to communicate that it is changing its course a bit towards the virtual world.
Metaverse is a term almost everyone might be familiar by now. It is basically a virtual world where the users can put on virtual reality (VR) goggles and navigate a stylized version of themselves, popularly called an avatar, through virtual entertainment venues, workplaces, and other virtual activities.
Metaverse would basically engage the users in immersive experiences via various technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), 5G, hologram, 3D Graphics, blockchain technology, NFTs, Haptic sensors, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But here comes a catch! Each and every technology being used as a base for the Metaverse might bring its own share of risks with them.
Many experts have earlier raised concerns that the possibility of identity theft might become smoother in the Metaverse if popper security measures are not carried out. Identity theft is already quite a flourishing sphere in the real world. Recent data shows that the losses to identity theft are around $24 Billion.
Additionally, these engaging experiences also bring along the risk of a black hole, particularly for children and teenagers. There have been instances when children have lost their lives while playing mobile games due to the great influence they have on them.
And differentiating between the real world and virtual world would be the need of the hour for the innocent age group.
The Base Of Metaverse Needs To Be Very Strong
Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the base layers of the Metaverse, and the new AR developments are pretty interesting. These can enable new approaches and instruments for data collection. But one of the biggest risks of AR is privacy concerns.
Because the AR Technologies would know what the user is doing, they can monitor the activities. They collect most of the information as to who the user is, and hence, AR comes with risks.
Similar to AR, privacy is also a primary issue with Virtual Reality (VR). Now comes the most personal information comprising fingerprints, retina scans, handprints, face geometry, voiceprints, etc. VR might also be majorly responsible for privacy issues in the virtual world.
VR technologies may also serve as a vulnerable target for identity theft in the Metaverse. Several machine learning algorithms can easily facilitate altering with the sounds and visuals that, after a point, might seem authentic.
For instance, if the attackers gain access to the motion tracking data of a VR headset. They can easily generate virtual duplicates by leveraging the motion monitoring data from the headsets. And the unethical actors can then use the virtual duplicates to overlap with another individual’s VR experiences and can carry out social engineering attacks.
Similarly, there could be other ways, too, as the malactors come up with something or the other.
But despite the risks, the Metaverse concept is growing profoundly and gaining a lot of attraction. It is to look forward to how the Metaverse would emerge while eliminating all the possible risks.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/06/17/metaverse-the-ship-of-frenzy-might-also-sail-in-the-risky-waters/