How to Stay Safe on the Metaverse

By now, most of us understand the real dangers of social media. Yes, social media does not present an immediate risk such as a street crime attack because it is virtual after all and that is well understood. However, not so fast. We are in the year 2022 which, ten years ago, seemed for most of us to be the distant neon-lit hyper-connected realm we could not fathom yet. Even though the 2020s have not turned out to be that drastically different, perhaps a lot more depressing than we initially thought, things are not too different overall. On the other hand, certain aspects of technology and the internet that affect our lives and lifestyles in big ways have indeed changed quite a bit. 5 billion of us now depend heavily on the internet for almost everything. For these reasons, we need to look at how exactly the internet has changed and why it is crucial you stay safe on social media these days, especially with upcoming social media revolutions like Meta’s Metaverse. Secondly, let's talk about that revolution a little too, before we get into the safety aspect of it.

First of all, how is the internet different now compared to ten years ago? Let’s be honest, ten years is not an enormous expanse of time by any means, but when it comes to the way the technology world is moving, 10 years is colossal. In fact, the biggest changes and revolutions to the internet as well as technology like smartphones and mobile internet have come about in the past ten years. Some call that the birth of the Information Age, well, there are a lot of names for it. In the last ten years, the period between 2012 and now, a lot has changed in the tech world. First of all, we got introduced to that device billions of us carry around every day in our pockets, the smartphone. Secondly, we got 3G, and then 4G, and finally 5G at present. Third, we got social media. Fourth, we got other revolutions such as the blockchain and virtual reality VR. All of this happened in about a decade, and all of it relates to why we have breakthrough technologies like Metaverse around today, and why billions of people want to jump on “the next thing” as fast as possible.

Hold your horses, have you, your family, or your friends thought about security before you jump right on the Metaverse early adopter train? Let’s talk about that.

What is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a product that comes from the newly established Meta Platforms Inc., (ex-Facebook) that is set to revolutionize the social media industry, how we connect, communicate and interact with each other all over the world. It is essentially Facebook 2.0. The major difference is that the Metaverse utilizes several different technologies such as VR (you know, those virtual reality goggles you can put on), and also leverages the blockchain which opens up new possibilities and aims to create an entire virtual universe. In Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, characters who wore VR goggles could log in through portals, having their “avatars” walk along virtual streets. For those of you that remember the “Second life” platform, Metaverse is essentially a bigger, more ambitious version of that. So, the Metaverse is going to leverage, as we said earlier, blockchain technologies (and cryptocurrency) such as Ethereum and NFTs. This will allow users to play, earn, learn, work, and much more in several different virtual worlds. The Metaverse is at an early stage right now and is far from the full-fledged version that tech entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg are envisioning, but many people are already using the early Metaverse. Some say it promises to change the internet forever, putting us on an Internet 3.0 trajectory. Of course, as VR technology advances and googles become less cumbersome, more immersive, and less expensive, a lot more users may gain interest in the Metaverse and similar products in the future.

Will You Be Safe on the Metaverse?

The short answer is a resolute no. The first Metaverse abuse cases have already been recorded, as was to be expected. It is simply in some people’s nature to hide behind anonymous accounts and avatars, and scam, virtually abuse, or try to extort others. Some find it funny, some seek attention, while others are genuinely malicious. Adding to that, nobody is certain how these worlds are going to function yet, so the uncertainties rise even further. With the old Facebook, for instance, privacy issues and social engineering scams, as well as romance schemes, and account hacking were a big problem. Another huge problem was that Facebook was dishonest about the way it handles user data (Cambridge Analytica case). Right off the bat, since cryptocurrency enters the picture with the Metaverse, things like crypto wallets are also going to be a cybercriminal target. How about moderating the Metaverse? How will that be done exactly? More questions like how will the mental health of children be affected on the Metaverse are also up in the air. Stepping into a 360-degree virtual environment may be too much to handle for some, especially if abusers are in that same environment. With developments like gloves that allow you to feel the Metaverse in the works, online perverts could have a field day with this one, as you can imagine.

Whether or not the Metaverse will usher in a new era is uncertain at this point. At the end of the day, users should always heed basic cybersecurity and privacy precautions no matter what the technology is that they are using. The way Metaverse is going to be moderated or created is something we cannot control, but what we can control is the use of internet best practices to avoid risks from the start. This means;

• Not sharing passwords or any other personal information with strangers
• Using long, randomized passwords across your accounts
• Securing your crypto wallets
• Securing your home WiFi router from cyberattacks with strong passwords
• Securing any IoT devices you may have with multi-factor authentication
• Make sure your VR devices’ security settings are active if applicable
• Never open emails from unknown senders
• Monitoring your child’s presence on the Metaverse and who they talk to
• Being cautious around NFT fraud

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