Abstract:  The metaverse, has been powered by advancements in extended reality (XR) technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), has emerged as the next frontier for digital interaction. However, as these immersive environments grow in complexity and adoption, they also become attractive targets for adversarial activities. In this talk, the author gives a discussion of the evolving landscape of data, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) threats within the metaverse, using the virtual world Second Life as a case study to illustrate the challenges and vulnerabilities of digital ecosystems. Furthermore, the author also explores the benefits of the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and XR technologies while emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in safeguarding the metaverse.

In addition, the author asseses potential use-cases in XR, AI and Cybersecurity, and the approaches that AI-driven adversaries could use to exploit XR platforms through identity theft, behavioral manipulation, and social engineering, as well as the implications of data privacy breaches and hardware/software vulnerabilities unique to AR/VR. Ultimately, an examination of how AI could be the potential tool for both attackers and a critical defense mechanism in securing immersive virtual environments. By drawing parallels between Second Life initiatives, we highlight the lessons learned and outline proactive and reactive strategies to preemptively address emerging threats and post-incident strategies.
 

Bio: Dr. Victor R. Kebande is an Asst Professor & Researcher of IT Security at the Secure Distributed Systems (SDS) under the Department of Computer Science, Institutionen f ̈or Datavetenskap, DIDA at Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden. Dr. Kebande is also a visiting researcher at the Security Research Group at the Department of Computer Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA. Previously, he was an Excellent Postdoctoral research scientist at the Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Lule ̊a University of Technology, Lule ̊a, Sweden under Information Systems Research subject. He was also a postdoctoral researcher at the Internet of Things and People (IoTaP) Center at the Department of Computer Science, Malm ̈o University, Malm ̈o, Sweden. He was also a Researcher with the Information and Computer Security Architectures (ICSA) Group and the DIgi-FORS Research Group, University of Pretoria. He has worked paticipated on a group of projects: DISS, Symphony, ArrowHead, and EU dAIEdge. His research is basically broad, multidisciplinary and application-based research, with interests in cyber, information security and digital forensics in the IoT, (IoT & IIoT security), digital forensics-incident response, cyber-physical system protection, critical infrastructure protection, cloud computing security, computer systems, distributed system security, threat hunting and modeling and cyber-security risk assessment, blockchain technologies, and privacy-preserving techniques.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jy8meyIAAAAJ&hl=en