The metaverse is the latest fad within Big Tech’s surveillance economy. According to Gartner’s projections, by 2026, 25% of the global population will log onto the metaverse for a least an hour a day — be it to shop, work, or socialize. In regard to accessing the metaverse for business, Gartner analyst Mark Ruskino pushes the start date out to the 2030s. Whenever the metaverse officially arrives, it is likely to bring a host of new problems related to privacy, security and user health.
What is the metaverse?
According to Gartner’s definition, the metaverse is “a collective virtual open space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.”
In an interview with MIT professor, Lex Fridman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that, “A lot of people think that the Metaverse is about a place, but one definition of this is: It’s about a time when basically immersive digital worlds become the primary way that we live our lives and spend our time. I think that’s a reasonable construct.”
Hopefully, Zuckerberg is wrong, and the metaverse never becomes the primary way we live our lives and spend our time. However, whether we like it or not, an iteration of the metaverse is coming, so we should be prepared for the effects.
Security and privacy concerns abound
In the metaverse, the cyberattack surface is expanded significantly. In any given metaverse ecosystem, there are IoT devices, wearables, and sensors in offices and homes — multiple hardware vendors will process a lot of sensitive user behavior, all in real-time.
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