Web3 and the metaverse offers a step change in how we interact with data over the web. The shift to persistent, immersive, and hyper-connected virtual spaces driven by user agency will drastically change how and what kinds of data is created, stored, and distributed.
A core tenet of web3 and the metaverse, a persistent identity and ownership for users across virtual worlds will be enabled through the broad decentralisation of data and finance. However, while this opens up tremendous opportunities for increased engagement, equity, and functionality, it also creates unprecedented risks with regard to the exploitation of personal data.
It is therefore critical for technologies powering web3 and the metaverse to be invested with agile and effective solutions for safeguarding data from the ground up.
Security risks in the new era of the internet
As it stands, metaverse and web3 spaces are more like a Wild West than a functional confederacy. This is shown in the rise of cryptocurrency as a largely unregulated investment medium. As perhaps the first mass-market foray into our decentralised future, the travails of the crypto markets can serve as warning signs for the potential dangers that will arise as they become more deeply integrated with our virtual and physical lives.
We spoke in part 1 about the ways that cryptocurrency can add value to metaverse ecosystems and their economies, and this is true at its technological core. However, just like in traditional finance, the health of an economy hinges on the ability to implement safeguards against the kinds of vagabond behaviour that it inevitably attracts.
Lack of understanding, initiative, and collaboration on the part of governments and technology providers has created significant gaps in legislation and security measures to combat the novel cybersecurity threats that crypto presents, leaving open doors to criminal activity such as money laundering, theft, and fraud.
And as the technology that enables the open metaverse matures, and metaverse ecosystems begin to flourish, this danger will apply not only to currency exchanges but also to personal data, and in particular to PII (Personally Identifiable Information).
As a user travels through virtual worlds, carrying a persistent record of their movements, transactions, and associations with them, they will leave an increasingly comprehensive digital footprint. Add to this the kind of data generated by hardware such as XR headsets and IoT devices, and this will form a more intimate picture of an individual’s life and identity than could ever be collated in the web2.0 era. Needless to say, this is an unprecedentedly rich vein of PII and personal data for malicious actors to exploit.
Without adequate protection, there is a danger that the increased agency that users will have on the front end will be counteracted by vulnerability on the backend. The imperative lies with developers and technology providers to implement cybersecurity strategies that prevent hackers from exploiting the proliferation of personal data in web3.0 and the metaverse to nefarious ends.
Web3.0 demands a deeper awareness of cybersecurity written into its underlying technology. Building on the vast upgrades to cybersecurity on the cloud that we have seen in the web2.0 era, metaverse ecosystems must allow cybersecurity services to work seamlessly and agilely across networks in the response and prevention of threats. Interoperability, flexibility, and scalability must thus be core principles baked into metaverse and web3.0 infrastructure.
How the Hadean Platform enables security for Web3.0
The Hadean Platform is a development infrastructure that is made for web3.0, and addresses the unprecedented cybersecurity needs of the new era as a core concern. This begins with an unbounded capacity for flexibility and agility in the integration and deployment of cybersecurity tools in virtual environments.
Through its distributed process model, developers are able to deploy patches and updates throughout a network without disrupting the user experience at run time, including seamlessly updating endpoint, perimeter and network protection tools to match the ongoing discovery of threats and innovations in the market.
This synergises with the platform’s unparalleled capacity for scale and performance in virtual environments, leveraging its dynamic provisioning capabilities to deploy updates quickly and prevent CPU overloads by providing resources to the point of need in real time.
Such agility also enables the zero-trust protocol that cybersecurity experts agree must be the foundation of security in the metaverse, hinging on non-intrusive identity verification and proof-of-humanity checks performed seamlessly and continuously over the cloud.
Furthermore, virtual environments built on the Hadean Platform leverage off-the-shelf interest management capabilities, enabling programmable segregation of data from user to user within the environment. This is a powerful solution for content filtering, as well as for preventing spying and gating access to personal information.
Finally, Hadean itself possesses the necessary accreditations for maintaining robust security protocol in its organisational practices. This is part of our commitment to serving the best interests of the wider community in the creation of our technological future in the metaverse.