The metaverse — a concept that promises to let users live, work and play within interconnected virtual worlds — will present some unique and more serious security challenges for technology and cybersecurity companies. As an example, hackers may be able to make avatars that look like a user’s trusted contacts, a twist on the traditional email phishing scheme that will be hard for users to resist, he said. The nature of the metaverse, which offers the possibility of less centralized control of content and users, also is a challenge for those trying to protect customers.
“Picture what phishing could look like in the metaverse — it won’t be a fake e-mail from your bank,” wrote Bell, Microsoft’s executive vice president, security, compliance, identity, and management, in a blog posted Monday on Microsoft’s web site. “It could be an avatar of a teller in a virtual bank lobby asking for your information. It could be an impersonation of your CEO inviting you to a meeting in a malicious virtual conference room.”
