Daily Maverick: Metaverse may change your world, but cyber threats stay the same

Many businesses see the metaverse as an opportunity to enhance digital experiences and virtual interactions and close the gap with employees and customers. A JP Morgan report, Opportunities in the metaverse, singles out a recent Fortnite concert that grossed about $20-million, including merchandise sales, that was seen by 45 million people. 

While opportunities abound, many of today’s cyber threats will still be prevalent in the metaverse of tomorrow. If anything, the additional complexity of a fully virtual environment could make those threats more difficult to defend against or manage, says Brian Pinnock, a cyber security expert at Mimecast.

Pinnock outlined the top cyber risks businesses and consumers are likely to encounter:

Risk #1: More scams and fraud

Currently, the metaverse is still in its early days and users enjoy the interconnectivity and freedom of their new virtual world/s. But this may come at the expense of online safety measures that could protect users from threats.

“Consider how hard it is to govern or safeguard web domains that fall outside national borders. Without the proper measures to protect users, the metaverse could become an unregulated playground for cybercriminals, who could use it to impersonate other users, commit fraud or steal personal information,” Pinnock says.