The cornerstones of security in the metaverse, according to Microsoft

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 29/03/2022

There is not one and only metaverse – and not even new! People have been hoping or counting on living in and monetising virtual worlds since early ‘90s, in a marathon that seems to be going one step forward and two backwards: the so-called internet bubble, or places like Second Life and My Space where hope fainted fast.

Now though there is again a reignited hope about a new promise land; and even though Facebook rebranded themselves to Meta, in order to get a competitive advantage for the Metaverse, all big tech companies, together with a huge amount of small ones, work to build the mixed reality.

Microsoft in fact just released a very calm and matter-of-fact list of the things they expect to come our way in connection with the metaverse:

• History repeats itself: the same way mobile phones and wifi changed security policies for companies for instance, metaverse is expected to bring new demands.

• Noone is safe… alone: no single vendor, product or technology can go alone in protection. ISPs, cloud providers, device manufacturers — even industry rivals in these markets — recognize the need to work together on security issues, something that will intensify with the metaverse needs.

• Your identity is the number one target: Imagine ‘an impersonation of your CEO inviting you to a meeting in a malicious virtual conference room’, Microsoft says and explains why solving for identity in the metaverse is a top concern. Organizations need to know that adopting metaverse-enabled apps and experiences won’t upend their identity and access control.

• Interoperability: in what seems to be a user-centered approach, Microsoft seems to be concerned about seamless and secure transition among companies’ metaverses. In what seems to be a very legitimate concern, the key could be on what companies are willing to reveal and what not.

• Same problems, one (unified) defense: the problems of yesterday’s and today’s Internet — impersonation, attempts to steal credentials, social engineering, nation state espionage, inevitable vulnerabilities — will be present in the metaverse. A strong cooperation among the reliable forces will be elementary in building a safe and better digital life going forward.