Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 30 | Page 46

CIO OPINION us to be whomever we want . In a virtual world , the possibilities are only limited by your imagination , and that flexibility is a huge drawcard for users . However , the downside is that on the planned scale of something like Meta , it ’ s simply too vast and decentralized to police in a way that would render it air-tight from a security perspective . Scams will be inevitable and skilled criminals will have even more to work with from a social engineering perspective .
Why secure coding will be crucial to the success of the metaverse
As fun as it may be to galivant across a lawless digital dimension , represented by an avatar that is everything you wish you could be in the real world , we must never forget that a human being is behind every ‘ character ’. And when real people ’ s data and finances are at stake , it ’ s very far removed from a game .
Sensitive user data is the new gold , and the Metaverse has the potential to be the richest and most complete source of data we have seen to date , providing projected adoption goes as planned . While it can be assumed that Metaverse-related software builds will adhere to current regulatory standards and compliance measures , these will need updates that are fit to support a rapidly expanding digital universe and its economy .
Core to this will be organizations taking responsibility for the security of their contributions to the Metaverse , with a level of in-house security maturity that ensures every person working on the software is thinking about and implementing security at every step in their process , especially the development cohort .
In cybersecurity , we understand mistakes have consequences that can be truly devastating , and the integrity of every component of the Metaverse cannot be an afterthought if widespread adoption and consumer trust are to come to fruition .
Once Facebook brings the Metaverse to life , its growth and evolution will be very rapid . For this reason , it ’ s important for organizations to begin planning now and working to understand the security implications .
There will be new challenges that need to be addressed and new skills to be learned . However , by starting as soon as possible , organizations can be well placed to make the best use of the opportunities this new platform will provide . p
46 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com