91探花

Ian McShane, VP of Strategy at Arctic Wolf explores….

Whether you鈥檙e the eternal believer or the dismissive cynic, there is no doubt the concept of the metaverse is the hot topic dominating many conversations across the technology industry right now. When the word 鈥榤etaverse鈥� started dominating the news cycle, I immediately thought of the dystopian futures where a new reality was needed to distract us from the misery of the real world, just like Ready Player One.

Initially, this felt like a left-field, alternate fantasy that primarily had its place in the worlds of gaming and film. Now, in a very short space of time, the reality is the metaverse is now being tipped as this next incarnation of the internet, and huge companies around the world are investing vast sums of money in it. The headline face is Facebook, as they go big on the metaverse being the future of their social media juggernaut. Meanwhile, Nike has also made a number of acquisitions to become 鈥榤etaverse ready鈥�, we鈥檙e starting to see real estate change hands, and in finance, the banks are hedging their bets on a virtual world future.

Even Microsoft jumped at the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon, claiming their acquisition of Activision will 鈥減rovide building blocks for the metaverse.鈥� Unsurprisingly, and completely in line with the rest of the metaverse narrative, they didn鈥檛 provide any further details on what that means.

While there is much hype and expectation, there are still many aspects of the metaverse that need to be understood. Breaking out of the technology and marketing bubbles, does everyone really understand what this could mean for our lives going forwards? An interesting recent study looked at the range of questions being asked by people on Google, and I think this is a real indicator of the 鈥榗ontinued unknown鈥� about what the metaverse means. If a large proportion of people don鈥檛 have a full understanding of this now, how can we effectively prepare for the next wave of cybersecurity dangers this will bring?

With this new digital world trying to infiltrate our lives further, there are some obvious red flags from a cybersecurity point of view that we need to consider. Naturally – and setting my incredible scepticism aside for now – like others in our industry I have immediate concerns and questions about security and privacy, despite the limited 鈥榦rdinary person adoption鈥� of what is currently a 鈥榖leeding edge鈥� tech trend.

However, I also believe this presents an opportunity for many organisations globally to play cybersecurity catch-up and invest properly in their operations. Anyone collecting and storing personally identifiable information, and no doubt selling the data and insights, has a moral and legal obligation to get data protection and privacy right. If now isn鈥檛 the time to prioritise data and cyber security, then I don鈥檛 know what is! Many businesses must view the metaverse and new steps in augmented reality as another compelling reason for prioritising cybersecurity investment and planning.
 

 
This doesn鈥檛 need to mean companies have to purchase a range of tools and platforms that no one knows how to use. Instead, the key to improving security operations can be a really smart investment into their existing workforce talent. If businesses can upskill the right employees already within the walls of their organisation, and bolster knowledge on the rapidly evolving threat landscape the metaverse presents, this will go a long way to prepare them for what鈥檚 coming. Businesses can then supplement these team skills with the technology and expertise of a suitable security partner to get the balance right.

Digging a little deeper, it鈥檚 important we start to consider what security challenges the metaverse could present, and what type of knowledge needs to be acquired. A real indicator of adoption will be the criminal activity aligned to this world. Sticking with my film analogies, there is every chance this world could quickly become a new avenue for cybercrime, just like Lawnmower Man or Hackers. That鈥檚 because most descriptions of the metaverse sound like VR 鈥榳orlds鈥� where you buy and interact with things that don鈥檛 exist in reality. Although they don鈥檛 exist in 鈥榬eality鈥� and are supposed to be part of a decentralised chain of custody, it鈥檚 important we remember that these things remain linked to an individual鈥檚 real-world wealth and identity, despite being obscured to provide anonymity.

In other ways, the NFT / web3 world is likely to be prime space for scams and scammers to operate as well. NFTs and metaverse products are already attracting people looking for a way to get rich quick, which makes for easy targets for cybercrime. I wouldn鈥檛 be surprised to see DeFi currency scams target 鈥榗elebrity鈥� VR avatars for account takeover to manipulate the BTC market prices as we鈥檝e seen recently with Twitter profiles.

Potential scams aside, the real focus this year will be on that tipping point for widespread metaverse usage, as that will put security and privacy at the forefront, if or when there is true global adoption of these technologies. Whilst the metaverse presents a huge new frontier for companies and consumers to engage, this will absolutely provide another opportunity for cybercrime to thrive. Despite having the protections in place, particularly with cryptocurrency and blockchain, regulation in the metaverse is still non-existent and as we鈥檝e seen with ransomware and extortion tactics, the legal recourse for attacks is also low, which will make it an extremely attractive – and potentially lucrative – space for cyber criminals.

History has told us that with many emerging technologies, security is often the afterthought but if there are any learnings we can take from the last 12 months, it鈥檚 that cyber protection needs to start taking priority, and the metaverse is no different. Whether it鈥檚 Nike, Facebook or any other business creating a digital playground, they must ensure they are investing in cybersecurity as much as they are in the creation of these technologies. Whilst this world might not yet be a mainstream reality, those businesses that integrate their cybersecurity operations from the ground up to prepare for the metaverse now will be in a much better position to combat an evolving threat landscape that is fast becoming more complicated.