Metaverse is a realm where everything digital interconnects. Games, social media, online shopping, VR — together they form a dimension that makes digital and physical worlds finally meet.
According to a report, there are 600 million people using metaverse. And by 2030 their number may grow to 2.63 billion. But every ecosystem has its vultures. In the metaverse, users are exposed to a number of threats that can render their pockets penniless and lead to massive private data leakages.
We, at Pear marketing, made a review of the top threats pertaining to Metaverse, while also discussing how to avoid them.
1. Identity theft
The issue: Identity theft means pretending to be someone to gain benefits. In the digital environment this stunt is even easier to pull off. Malicious actors can clone a metaverse avatar at a $0 cost and gain access to the private data that can be tied to the said avatar: bank card and account details, coordinates, emails, and so on.
In certain cases they can go as far as copying biometric signals to get validated. Biometric data can also be hijacked from an avatar and then replicated with various tools. According to Antispoofing Wiki, attackers’ arsenal can range from machine-learning to fake fingerprints made from gelatinous gummy bears (!)
Besides, identity theft can be orchestrated to ‘set up’ a certain brand or individual. Imagine a scenario, in which a spokesperson for a popular soft drink exposes ‘the truth’ about how spent nuclear fuel is used as its main ingredient — you get the idea what may follow.
What to do: Multi-factor authentication, enhanced with the state-of-the-art liveness detectors, are a top defence mechanism. Besides, tools that provide decentralized identity can also mitigate the risk.
2. Virtual asset theft
The issue: Metaverse has its own prized possessions in the form of digital assets. Basically, they look, smell, and act like the NFTs we all know. Some of these artifacts are mere souvenirs that brands can issue to interact with their audience: a Coca-Cola bubble jacket is a good example (even though it was auctioned for real money).
Others can be quite valuable in price, acting like super-rare collectibles. They are present in a constellation of forms: artwork, 3D-recreation of a McLaren sports car, some fancy virtual clothing, and so forth. Digital money and crypto are also at stake in this scenario.
In this case, malicious actors can focus on two attack modalities (SE/SE):
- System exploitation. Even blockchain and decentralized finances have weak spots. They can be hacked to have the valuables transferred from one depository to another. And considering how much emphasis is put on the blockchain’s anonymity, it’ll be almost impossible to track down the lost goodies.
- Social engineering. And this is a tactic when scammers gain your trust. Social engineering goes hand in hand with phishing — a subtle way of getting someone’s personal and sensitive data. A user can be tricked into giving this data away — like a seed-phrase for example — only for it to get stolen.
What to do: Cold wallet is an absolute must when it comes to cryptography-based items. Other defence strategies include raising awareness about social engineering methods, auditing metaverse contracts, and forming strict policies for brands and companies to protect sensitive info.
3. Privacy breaches
The issue: The metaverse relies on extensive data collection, including behavioral analytics, location tracking, and even facial expressions — this is required to improve VR interactions. Such a vast pool of information presents a tempting chance for cybercriminals. A potential data breach could compromise personal details, behavioral insights, and private user interactions. Needless to say, this all can be used against a user.
What’s even worse, metaverse can be mining granular data. It refers to the tiniest and the most subtle details related to a person. For instance, VR tracks down the eye movement, which is necessary for the object interaction in virtual reality. And other applications may remember shopping habits, frequently visited places, preferred payment methods, etc.
What to do: It’s hard to say what a brand can do with data gathering — it’s mostly done by a metaverse platform, so we cannot directly affect it. The only solutions are limited data mining, encryption and, yet again, raising awareness among the users.
4. Platform’s weak spots
The issue: No platform is 100% secure from possible exploitation. Shortcomings in the code and defence measures can lead to literal disasters. For instance, digital currencies can be deflated if the hackers slash into their code and fiddle with the digits.
What to do: Again, controlling such things is out of our hands — the developers should take care of such threats through cautious auditing, testing and reviewing. The only thing that companies and regular users can contribute is reporting bugs and breaches that can be nefariously exploited.
Summing it up
So, to avoid most of the problems in the metaverse, users should:
- Use a cold wallet.
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
- Provide only the necessary minimum of the private info.
- Report all weaknesses that can be possibly used by the attackers.
- Follow only legit companies and brands authenticated by the platform.
As for the brands, their goals are confirming their avatars and accounts in the metaverse, tracking and taking down all impersonators, and raising awareness among the clientele about these threats.
Follow our tips and stay with us to learn more valuable insights!
