👨‍🚀 Will the "Metaverse" have more Bad Actors?

Will the metaverse have more bad actors than the real world?

December 09, 2021

Contents:

  • 👨‍🚀 Will the Metaverse have more Bad Actors??

  • đź‘€ Under the Radar

  • đź“° ICYM

  • đź‘Š Sponsors

  • đź’¸ Coupons

In just a few months the “Metaverse” has become a global buzzword and one the most searched terms in the internet.

The promise of a metaverse has been around since circa 1994 when Neal Stephenson coined the term in his novel “Snow Crash,” but with the rise of cryptocurrencies and the decisions of certain companies to invest more resources and time in creating their own metaworld, this promise seems to be closer than ever.

According to Grayscale, the metaverse has a $1 trillion revenue potential. It will demand the creation of hardware to stimulate sensation and touch making it similar to the real world. Software will have to improve in terms of speed, security and interoperability in order to be able to create near-to-real world scenario. And we will have to shift the way we interact with technology in order to immerse into it with the help of headsets and other hardware that perhaps has not been created yet.

The video game industry could be the one that benefits the most from this technological advance as it’s expected to grow from a $180 million industry in 2020 to $400 million in 2025.

All this will not come with risks. Hackers have been eating the world one bit at a time. According to Hosting Tribunal, there is a hack attack every 39 seconds, which means we could be under attack right now and do not even know it. Russian hackers are the fastest, 300,000 new malware is created every day and the average cost of data breaches was about 150 million in 2020. As we migrate to a metaworld, all of the aforementioned figures will balloon.

Technology advances also makes it easier and more cost effective for bad actors to attack from anywhere in the world with a lower risk of getting caught. One big example of how criminals are exploiting technological advancements to automate their crimes are robocalls and scams. In April of 2020, there were 2 billion robocalls registered in the United States alone and by October of the same year, the government counted 6.1 billion, a 200% increase. Hacks in crypto platforms are up 600% in 2021 alone amounting to more than $10 billion in total losses. And there are close to 100 million fake accounts in Facebook constantly triggering suspicious emails and posts.

It is easier to hide behind a computer on the other side of the world and automate robocalls or social media messages in the attempt to scam victims. And it may become a lot easier to perpetuate scams in the metaverse, where millions of users will be connecting their wallets looking to buy their next NFTs for their collection or attempting to collect coins (ala Ready Player One). If platforms and users do not have the required security systems in place to avoid being hacked the metaverse could become a heaven for criminals as the rewards could be huge and the risks low.

In todays world, these are a few things that we can implement to avoid being hacked. (Technology grows exponentially, hence this may not apply in the distant future, but it does now.) As per Wire Mag.

  • Use Multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication and encryption are the biggest hacker obstacles.

  • Get a Password Manager - All the passwords you use for your online accounts should be strong and unique.

  • Learn How to Spot a Phishing Attack - Be cautious, think before you click, and download files only from people and sources you know and trust.

  • Update Everything - Once you’ve updated your phone, you need to work out what devices to update next.

  • Encrypt Everything - Turn on Apple’s FileVault to encrypt your startup disk, and on Windows you can turn encryption on through the Settings menus or use BitLocker encryption. 

  • Wipe Your Digital Footprint - Find the old accounts you no longer use and delete them. Use a VPN to boost browsing privacy

In conclusion, as technology advances and it will continue to do so exponentially, we can be sure that bad actors will become more crafty and ingenious in order to accomplish their goals.

đź‘€ Under the Radar

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  • Filecoin - Decentralized storage system that aims to “store humanity’s most important information.” The project raised $205 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017 and has continue to grow.

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đź“° ICYM

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