A defensive model and implementation baseline for the metaverse and extended reality systems

The metaverse and extended reality (XR) systems are vulnerable to emerging security threats, as developers have prioritized competitive business gains over security. The virtual entities, immersive experiences, and lack of centralized governance pose significant challenges in establishing standardized guidelines for XR systems and its stakeholders. In this research, a panoramic view is presented to identify mitigation strategies and defensive capabilities, including authenticity, privacy, integrity, interoperability, virtual forensics, and incident reporting to counter potential threats. To facilitate the implementation of a secure XR system, a novel baseline model is introduced, outlining key attributes and functions aligned with the available libraries. A statistical analysis is performed to assess the quality and effectiveness of development resources in embedding novel XR security features. Furthermore, this research assesses the security posture of prominent XR systems and examines the applicable regulatory frameworks in immersive environment. Finally, security recommendations are proposed to counter the threat landscape of XR and the metaverse.