XR security has long been an overlooked concept in the emerging immersive technology landscape. It’s easy to forget how exposed your data can be when interacting with mixed reality and augmented reality content or exploring the metaverse.
But as the demand for extended reality grows across all industries, so too do the associated threats. New technologies can pose risks to organizations, but XR’s ability to change our view of reality and collect endless amounts of data makes security a critical concern.
In 2024, researchers succeeded in breaking into the Meta Quest headset. If you, like countless other companies, are planning to invest in XR this year, here’s why you should invest in security and data privacy solutions.
1. XR security threats are increasing.
First, the growing adoption of XR technologies across all industries, from healthcare to manufacturing, has made immersive environments more attractive to malicious actors. Today’s criminals are utilizing a growing number of strategies to extract data from XR solutions.
Like many other forms of technology, XR may be subject to the following risks:
- Social engineering attacks: Hackers can distort a user’s perception of reality to entice them to engage in risky behavior, such as sharing passwords or personal information.
- Malware: Hackers can inject malicious content into applications through metaverse advertisements, increasing the risk of data leakage.
- Denial of Service: DDoS attacks are becoming increasingly common in XR, blocking access to critical real-time information and data.
- Ransomware: Criminals can gain access to your device, record your actions or data, and then threaten to release this information to the public.
- Man-in-the-middle attack: Network attackers can steal sensitive data by eavesdropping on communications during immersive collaboration sessions.
The rise of AI-based tools has made it easier for criminals to launch sophisticated and extremely dangerous attacks targeting XR users. For example, in the Meta Quest headset attack mentioned above, researchers were able to use generative AI to actively manipulate users through social interactions.
2. Ethical concerns increase the need for XR security.
As companies continue to use XR for everything from training to product development, it’s not just the risk of intellectual property or business data loss that makes XR security essential. Companies must also adhere to ethical standards and protect employee data.
XR technologies continuously track and collect massive amounts of personal data. Innovative solutions like Apple Vision Pro include numerous sensors used to capture head, hand, and eye movements and voice conversations. It can also collect spatial data about its surroundings.
Over time, this personal data can reveal a lot of intimate data about an individual, including insights into their physical and mental state. While this can be a useful tool for companies looking to better understand their users, it presents clear ethical issues surrounding profiling.
Personal data privacy standards and compliance obligations require businesses to take additional precautions to limit the data they collect from users and share with third parties.
3. Revealing additional data through spatial computing
Interest in spatial computing has grown since Apple launched Vision Pro. Spatial technologies are great for enhancing user experiences, but they also present unique XR security threats. Sensors and external cameras collect data about the environment as well as the user.
Gather insights on everything from your office or warehouse layout to your production floor. If criminals gain access to this data through hacking or malware, sensitive intellectual property and business secrets can easily fall into the wrong hands.
In particularly high-security environments, such as military bases or law enforcement, access to such spatial data can be extremely risky. Many companies are also planning to collect additional data from headsets, such as lip and facial movements. Some innovators have also discussed brain scanning options that could enable neural headset control in the future.
4. Realistic avatars can improve deepfakes
Companies like Meta and Microsoft have been exploring ways to make avatars more realistic for some time. Hyper-realistic avatars can help increase immersion in XR and improve human connections. But it also paves the way for “deepfake” opportunities.
With access to the right data, criminals and hackers can easily gather factual information about users and create virtual versions of those individuals. One day, we may even be able to steal biometric information based on eye and facial scans.
It’s relatively easy to distinguish fake avatars and videos from the real thing now, but the rise of generative AI is making it easier to create convincing deepfakes. This could pose a serious XR security risk for companies that use biometric information for authentication.
5. Digital twins present new XR security risks.
Digital twins have emerged as one of the most valuable forms of extended reality for many companies. Manufacturing, automotive, engineering, and construction industries can accelerate product development and enhance predictive maintenance.
However, creating realistic virtual representations of systems, products, and processes requires a lot of data. Giving criminals access to data about the real-time behavior of a system or product component poses a serious security risk.
Malicious actors can also hack a digital twin from afar and compromise various business processes, preventing the system from running effectively. Risks associated with digital twins also increase when companies share these assets with a variety of companies across their supply chain.
6. Metaverse safety is becoming more important
Although the growth of generative AI has taken some attention away from the metaverse environment, adoption is still growing. This is especially true as vendors continue to introduce intuitive ways for users to build and manage their own metaverse environments without code.
Creating space in the metaverse for collaboration, brainstorming, and customer service can be invaluable to businesses. However, the more data contained in these environments, the more risks they present in terms of intellectual property theft and content duplication.
At the same time, the metaverse presents additional risks to consider when it comes to user safety. There are many examples of users being exposed to psychological threats and attacks in virtual environments. Investing in XR security and data protection strategies is critical to protecting both content and users in the metaverse.
7. Compliance standards are evolving.
Finally, one of the most important reasons to invest in XR security and data governance is that legal, regional, and industry-driven frameworks will soon require it. Regulations are evolving as businesses embrace expanded realities and new threats emerge.
When using XR devices and the metaverse, businesses must adhere to the same security and privacy standards they already implement under PCI, GDPR, and HIPAA. It is likely that there will be more regulations related to data protection in XR in the future.
Companies exploring the benefits of generative AI in XR will also need to rethink how autonomous agents and bots collect, process, and share data.
Don’t overlook XR security this year
The opportunities and use cases for XR in the enterprise environment continue to grow. However, as adoption grows, new threats are also emerging. Investing in the right XR security and data governance strategy is critical for any organization navigating this new environment.
Whether you’re using AR applications, mixed reality headsets, virtual reality, or the metaverse, don’t underestimate the importance of XR security.