{"id":48245,"date":"2022-09-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"urn:uuid:5b625d30-5057-e738-f3b5-a3be3c5ae2eb"},"modified":"2022-09-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T00:00:00","slug":"metaverse-broadband-infrastructure-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/metaverse-broadband-infrastructure-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Metaverse Broadband Infrastructure Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The term \u201cmetaverse\u201d was originally coined by author Neal Stephenson<\/a> for his 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash to describe a virtual reality (VR) world. Nearly 30 years later, Facebook revitalized the term after rebranding themselves as Meta<\/a> with the intent to focus research and development efforts on building the metaverse.<\/p>\n

Since the announcement, Meta has introduced Horizon Worlds; other big-name companies<\/a> are working on new metaverse-friendly apps. While Gartner predicts<\/a> that by 2026, people will spend at least one hour every day in the metaverse, it is hard to say when it will truly become a part of society\u2019s main fabric.<\/p>\n

However, whether this happens in five or 10 years, businesses still need to prepare for the next-level connectivity and new infrastructure requirements this digital world needs. And they need to figure out how to secure it as well.<\/p>\n

This article provides as overview on the metaverse, its data challenges, and tips for securing potential metaverse broadband infrastructure.<\/p>\n

What is the Metaverse?<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what exactly is it? There seems to be no single answer. According to Facebook, \u201cthe metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today\u2019s online social experience, sometimes expanded into three dimensions, or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can\u2019t be together \u2013 and do things together you couldn\u2019t do in the physical world.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Trend Micro Research\u2019s Metaverse or Metaworse<\/a> report, it is defined as: \u201cThe metaverse is a cloud-distributed, multi-vendor, immersive-interactive operating environment that users can access through different categorizes of connected devices (both static and mobile). It uses Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies to provide an interactive layer on top of the existing internet. As proposed, it is an open platform for working and playing inside a VR\/AR\/MR\/XR environment\u2026 The metaverse will allow players to seamlessly move between virtual spaces together with their virtual assets. The metaverse is not merely a platform for human users; it will also be a communications layer for smart city devices through which humans and AI can share information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metaverse: new tech, old issues<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, metaverse tech is new, but expanding networking infrastructure is a not. As connectivity increases and more data is fired through space and time, the network will evolve in-line.<\/p>\n

Take the UK Land Registry<\/a> for example. Its commitment to making the registry \u201cthe world\u2019s leading land registry for speed, simplicity, and open approach to data\u201d has led to several network infrastructural changes.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2021, Her Majesty\u2019s Land Registry announced plans to launch a live test of Digital Street<\/a>, which is purpose-built to allow property ownership changes to close instantaneously. It will also allow the registry to hold more granular data than is presently possible. As a result, the registry plans to use blockchain technology<\/a> to support its goals.<\/p>\n

The metaverse is similar. Instead of needing enough bandwidth to send low-impact SMS messages, metaverse broadband infrastructure will need to support<\/a> hybrid local and remote real-time rendering, video compression, edge computing, cross-layer visibility, etc. An outstanding amount of network data will need be managed all with imperceptible delays.<\/p>\n

Metaverse network challenges<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cMetadata Catastrophe\u201d<\/b> will become vastly more prevalent as the number of packets and the frequency of service invocation spikes with metaverse use. Existing infrastructure assumes a certain lifespan, and architects’ assumptions about use counts and index ranges during that lifespan. The accelerated pace of service invocation generated by 5G will further drive workloads past these architectural limits. Other key challenges include:<\/p>\n