Cybersecurity fears likely to make businesses Metaverse averse

The virtual world of the Metaverse is already attracting people to attend virtual events and play games. It also has the potential for businesses to make money -- research from McKinsey suggests it could be a $5 trillion industry by 2030.

However businesses are still wary of the additional challenges, particularly with regard to security. New research carried out by YouGov for app security company F5 shows six out of 10 respondents say the Metaverse has introduced security complexities that their organization may not be equipped to address.

In addition 37 percent say their organization has already been attacked in some way related to the Metaverse.

Currently only one in ten IT decision makers say their organization is operating in the Metaverse, while 52 percent expect to be there within the next five years or sooner and 35 percent do not have plans to explore or adopt the Metaverse at all. Around 50 percent say security concerns, risks to data privacy and lack of end user interest are among the top three reasons impacting their rate of adoption.

Haiyan Song, F5's EVP and GM security, writes on the company's blog. "The idea that any new digitization comes with correlating vulnerability is now ingrained in the IT industry and will undoubtedly have a positive impact as the Metaverse continues to evolve. It does not have to be the Wild West, so long as investment and innovation in cybersecurity go hand-in-hand with the development of the underlying technologies."

There are similar concerns around Web3 -- featuring greater use of blockchain, decentralized services and cryptocurrencies. Nearly six in 10 respondents (58 percent) believe Web3 will enhance their business, but at the same time 51 percent don't think their organization is prepared for the security and data privacy requirements that accompany it.

You can read more on the F5 blog.

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