Real World implications of Dual Identity through Avatars in the realm of Metaverse – Data Security, Privacy and Identity Theft: Critical Analysis Essay

1.     Introduction

Imagine a world in time, where humans have accepted their avatars as an existence of their cognitive and functional selves. Here’s the truth, we don’t need to imagine. This form or realisation of existence has been unfolding within our world since the beginning of internet. These Avatars existed in a 2-dimensional capacity now permeating into the reality of 3-dimensional interactive avatars. An avatar is the digital identity of a human stored on a decentralised blockchain platform, unique from individual to individual. 

To understand Avatars, we explore the concept of identity. Identities in a virtual space exist as a means to express, interact, authenticate and authorize. The first form of identification (Face to face certificate identification) in traditional societal construct, depended on the “memories and feelings” of a person, limiting the extent of interactivity and reliability (Wang and Wang, 2023). Followed, Paper certificate Identification which was enabled due to the exploration of printing press (Wang and Wang, 2023). The validity of this identification was objective but more reliant than memories. It negatively impacted the society with forgery and identity theft culture. Existence of the internet enabled the creation of Digital identity certificates (Wang and Wang, 2023). There was a dual impact of digital technology on the digital identity. First, emergence of new-age technologies enabled unique ways of self-expression and sharing of these identities (Wang and Wang, 2023). Second, the storing of these identities on an online platform improved the security and verification (Wang and Wang, 2023). (Wang and Wang, 2023) further says, “This identity is stored in the blockchain as a digital signature or in other distributed ledger technologies that can are robust against hacker endeavours.”

This claim can be gleaned as an absolute statement without considering the unknowns. In contradiction to this claim, the security is still in question as every new technology brings with it its own risks and gray areas. Hacking has evolved and updated parallel to these technologies. This has become a concern raising the need for updated cyber-security to accommodate the intricacies of a Metaverse. To state one such example, NFTs the visual gateway to the blockchain technology was in its bubble and at the peak of its popularity. Blockchain technology prided itself on the uniqueness of value and data chain. Hackers arised and managed to find bug loopholes in the codes of a few platforms to commit NFT theft (OpenSea). Further, there were instances of take overs and impersonations of NFT platforms (Monkey Kingdom) on Discord to defraud the public and financially scam both the platform and the user (Anon, 2022).

A platform that stores every shred of information of an individual, is a one-point access for exploitation of the identity. Current cyber-security standards will not be able to protect the extensive user demographic and database, a full-fledged Metaverse would create. I believe that current systems in place need to be questioned to design a deployable solution before the Metaverse takes over our online lives. In this essay I will carry forward this line of topic with the focus on Cyber-security – Privacy, Identity theft and Data Security in a Metaverse space.

2.     Literature Review

2.1  Journey of Metaverse

(Tucci, 2023) describes Metaverse to be a single, shared, immersive and persistent 3D Virtual realm wherein people can live their physical lives in a virtual space using Avatars to work, shop, learn, interact, and entertain. This is achieved using a plethora of technologies, hardware and software including but not limited to Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Blockchain.

In 2021, Facebook changed its brand Identity to Meta which had clear implications that the largescale future of the internet is Metaverse (Huddleston Jr., 2021). Having said that, this concept was introduced as early as 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his novel “Snow Crash”. First seen as a way of escape in a dystopian world is now translating into a potential way of life. The largescale application is yet to happen, to a certain extent the bubble of Metaverse technology is about to burst, although the early applications already exist in a brand-based space.

As stated by (N. Dionisio, et al., 2013), Metaverse is dependent on the progress of four areas: Immersive realism, ubiquity of access and identity, interoperability, and scalability. In this review we focus on the Identity as a pillar of the Metaverse architecture. Identity in the online world has existed since world wide web was introduced to the masses. (Holm, 2023) speaks about the evolution of digital identities in her article, ‘Digital Identity Online and in the Metaverse: Past, Present and Future’. Holm explains the concept of digital identity which began in a simple textual format such as a username progressing to a more graphical interface for the same. The graphical interfaces include Snapchat’s Bitmojis, Apple’s Memojis, 2D Avatars in games and more. They are limited to the applet they are built for, but the ability of hyper-customization and personalisation humanizes these digital selves with their physical identity in its essence. These avatars are gaining a new dimension in the Metaverse – Web 3.0, being able to interact between platforms, with layered level of data attached to them namely, Crypto Wallets, professional identities, social groups and beyond. These 3D Avatars that encompass this extent of real-world attributes of an individual are bound to have an impact on our lives. The ability to reinvent ourselves, the vulnerability of sensitive information being stored on a shared platform and the idea of life without an end raises questions about its Morality, Authenticity and Safety.

As one navigates through this literature review, they will come across narrations about Dual Identity (Avatars), Real-World implications and Philosophical implications.

2.2 Dual Identity

(Shoemaker, 2022) describes identity in his article as a unit that distinguishes us as individuals, a way of presenting ourselves to the world. He also speaks about identity being a dynamic entity, ever-changing and ever evolving through time and experiences. In today’s technologically advanced days, identity gleans a whole new meaning keeping its roots in personal, social, and legal aspects. In a Metaverse, where the physical (behaviours, attitudes, preferences) and virtual identities co-exist blurring the boundaries between the two and the ability to live through multiple personas, the conversation of dual identity arises. (Roy, 2023) raises the following questions in his blog, “Are we the same person in both realms? Or do we don different masks, shedding one identity when we enter the metaverse and assuming another?”. This challenges our very notion of being and existence. If one projects idealised versions of themselves in their Avatars, whilst being experimental and exploratory it questions the authenticity. Furthermore, stating a few examples from (Anon., 2023) of Metaverse spaces and Avatar typologies: 1. Roblox and Sandbox use blocky Humanoid Avatars, 2. Meta uses virtual representations of one’s physical self, 3. Zoom allows you to use animal filters whilst attending a meeting. These typologies further the question of dual identity as the true visual identity of a human is hidden behind layers of filters, 3D simulations and virtual aesthetic diversity. Blurring the boundaries between our physical and virtual self. Dual Identity could mean a duplicate existence of our cognitive and utilitarian selves breeding full-fledged functional avatars into to Metaverse.

2.3 Philosophical Implications

‘Metaverse Identities’ provide us with a means to create carefully constructed and idealised versions of ourselves. This realises the need to keep up with these projected identities and expectations which may lead to stress and anxiety within users. How genuine will our social interactions and connections be? Building meaningful relationships through trust would be a particularly complex task.

Living a life extensively in a Digital world, relying on virtual relationships, loss of physical touch and in person interaction could develop a sense of seclusion and lonesomeness within individuals. Subsequently, gamers in today’s age experience long hours being attached indoors to their consoles, with very less physical activity and exposure to sunlight. There are studies (Casino, 2020) that predict what would gamers look like and the ailments they would face 20 years down the line, ranging from posture deformation, stress induced eczema, carpal tunnel syndrome, varicose veins, pale skin (lack of sunlight), obesity (lack of movement and exercise) and more. In Stephenson’s Novel Snow Crash, Stephenson hypothesises about an atrophic version of humans called Gargoyles, near lifeless and horrendously disfigured from having spent their entire lives in the Metaverse, their physical form reduced to merely vestigial. Metaverse living is going to be an extensive version of living online as opposed to just gaming, expediting the timeline of these afflictions, as well as their severity.

(Banik, 2022) debates immortality in Metaverse in her article speaking about the concept of immortality being a provocative possibility, the idea of existence and dual identity overcoming the laws of time itself.

A Metaverse named ‘Somnium Space’ allows you to pick a ‘Live Forever’ option, where you live eternally and communicate with your loved ones even after your physical death. This will require us to rethink how we perceive life, its ephemerality, and the preservation of human civilization. 

2.4 Real-World Implications

Factually science and technology impact various fronts of a society, according to (Bibri, 2022). These social realities traverse through variations with each era. One such fundamental example is the invention of Printing press, it devised literacy further facilitating innovation and technology within the avant-garde world we live in.

(Bibri, 2022) further describes Metaverse as a techno-utopian version of our real world. The social reality of this Techno-utopian world - Metaverse is network of technologies and combined alter the societal, political, ethical, and economic practices and cultures. Laws and regulations for a Metaverse even though formed on the foundation of our existing norms will have to evolve radically to account for needs or threats that didn’t exist before. Metaverse being a shared platform used by users who could be anonymous or experimental with their identities raise several concerns about Data Privacy, Authenticity, Cyber-Security, and Identity Theft. Currently there is no safeguard against people replicating identities of other individuals in Metaverse stated as evil twins by (Casillo & Powell, 2023) which could lead to fraudulent and misleading behaviours. It can steamroll into financial thefts just as easily due to the lack of strong cyber-security for the financial data being stored on the blockchain that the Metaverse runs on.

(Marr, 2022) focuses on the industries that have adapted the Metaverse culture and the challenges that arise. Metaverse is often associated with socialising and gaming. Although, it has its roots within industries such as Entertainment, Fashion, Automobile, Education and Healthcare. Consequently, a child immersed in education Metaverse needs controlled environments with respect to the data that they are experiencing or making sure exposure to a life like digital world doesn’t desensitize individuals to violence, misogyny, and racism. A society would be in chaos if boundaries and regulations didn’t exist, similarly Metaverse needs a regulatory Manifesto to navigate these intricacies of a Digital World.

2.5 Summary

This literature review delves into the multifaceted effects of Dual Identity through Avatars within the realm of Metaverse, a 3D virtual world alike the one we live in perpetuating cognitive and functional applications. It investigates the philosophical considerations such as virtual existence leading to individuals struggling with translation of identity, isolation, stress, anxiety, and physical health conditions. It also contemplates the shift in perception of immortality and eternal life. Whilst the real-world implications being more tangible directly threat privacy, identity theft, authenticity of individuals alongside socio-economic repercussions. This synthesis of this research forms the basis of this analytical essay within which I am exploring the Real-World implications of Avatars in the Digital World of Metaverse – Privacy, Identity theft and Data Security.

3.     Creative Development

Before I delve into the security concerns of a digital identity, I will briefly talk about identity as a Freudian philosophy and how it affects the societal construct and laws of the world, we live in. Freud proposes in his theory the three major aspects of one’s identity: The Id, The Ego and The Superego (Yue Kun, 2022). (spritchett, 2018) These three aspects can be described as a balancing act, wherein the Id “represents the unconscious” at the bottom of one side controlling the needs and desires of a human. Whilst the Ego at the top directs the consciousness. The Superego balances the two striving to create the ideal version of oneself, “who you actually are as a person”(spritchett, 2018). These philosophical theories are relevant to an identity in a virtual world. (Yue Kun, 2022) says that Humans and societies both seek refuge within needs and desires during times of struggles and disagreements. Metaverse could be the modern-age technology enabler to provide this refuge to the society at a large. (Yue Kun, 2022) also believes that the rules of a society will be deconstructed and then reconstructed to accommodate the nuances of a new Metaverse world. My opinion differs from Yeu Kun, as I believe that the progress we make as a rapidly innovating society leaves less room for regularization from scratch. The laws and regulations adapt to the changing times, yet their fundamentals are rooted in our history.

With the fast-paced technological development in Industry 4.0, digital governance is playing catch up with these technologies. Developing large-scale cyber-security plans is an expansive and exhaustive undertaking. There are various aspects to consider while thinking about an ever-evolving scalable space such as the metaverse. My protagonist for these considerations for the purpose of this essay is the Avatar. An Avatar holds various forms of sensitive data, to name a few, user Id, password, financial data, purchases made in the Metaverse, geo-location, social media, browsing history, purchase history, health, and wearable data.

Data privacy and security of the above-mentioned factors are yet to be realised to its full extent within a Metaverse. This sensitive information is vulnerable in the Metaverse. In addition to this, metaverse will continually record data beyond what we experience today. As an immersive technology, haptic patterns, eye movements, facial expressions, voice patterns, physical movements and more. Current norms and regulations aren’t extensive enough to cater to the security of these added typologies.

 (Falchuk et al., 2018) proposes a theory to create “confusion-creating clouds of clones” to protect the exact identity of a user at any given point in time. This theory talks about giving particular attributes to each clone to create anonymity and confusion for the Avatar to avoid observation, stalking and harassment (Falchuk et al., 2018). In my opinion, this is a complicated approach that would burden an already exhaustive system and will have implications on the amount of resources used to run the Metaverse. Many such solutions for Data privacy are rooted in policy or are left in the hands of the user.

As a designer who has worked with conceptualising a metaverse, I have realised that policies are harder to enforce or even draft and can lead to ethical issues, as the users aren’t always fully aware of these. As for giving control to the users, it isn’t always efficient to expect them to fully know the workings of these methods. As a metaverse is supposed to cater to a broader audience which includes individuals that aren’t always well versed with the technology from the beginning, these methods will create conflict in privacy issues and liability would be questioned.

Carrying forward the example of evil twins that threaten the identity of the Avatars, my research has led me to more information about these threats. Identity theft poses a risk to both ‘an individual user as an avatar’ and ‘a business or platform’ that exists within the metaverse. Phishing scams, impersonation, lack of appropriate verification and data breaches are potential ways lead Avatars to leak sensitive information under false pretences. I believe that this is a wicked problem that will need a designed solution for perpetuity, because technologies involve constantly and with it rise the potential risks. Layered data encryption, robust verification processes, comprehensive regulatory laws can act as a first level security. Sensory authentications using technologies that are already integrated, such as haptics and VR eye scanners can act as a two-step verification. This will create an added layer of security to protect and validate the identity and metadata of an Avatar.

Avatars living as a society in a metaverse reveal larger security and safety concerns beyond materialistic protections. Avatars in a metaverse will consequently form their own lives, businesses, societies, politics and entertainment within this world. It will be a creation of the avatars, not limited to existing in a world as is, that is provided to them. Businesses will emerge, goods and commodities will require protecting; human rights, inclusivity and societal ethics will need to be integrated. Just as crime never existed and is thus a creation of humans, established the need for justice to exist. There would be hidden negative affordances that will need addressing. Some video games are created with the intention of gamified warfare or killing. Harm in cyber-space is considered as “not really physical harm”, which pushes us to question how ethics will be different in a metaverse (Cheong, 2022). Real-world laws and jurisdictions will have to translate and accommodate the needs of a metaverse. What will crime be in a Metaverse?

4.     Creative Output

Research and theories are making advancements in the field of personal identification in Metaverse. One significant case study is the “Human Identification in Metaverse Using Egocentric Iris Recognition” by (Wang and Kumar, 2022). The paper focuses on the evident use of AR/VR smart glasses to navigate through a virtual space. Ocular recognition if developed in this capacity could be a low cost, hygienic and accurate source for personal identification (Wang and Kumar, 2022). This form of biometric data is widely available within nations’ infrastructure that could act as the foundation for easy identity verification of Avatars and streamline e-governance. Albeit the current form of iris recognition will have to be adapted to fit into the complexity of a metaverse space. Research and development investments will have to be made to achieve this goal.

After reading and analysing this study, I agree with the authors on the use of existing infrastructure and data that is available to us. This can expedite the process and create sustainable solutions as opposed to policy making which goes through intensive formulation processes and varied channels of approval. Although, this might not be the most efficient form of identification to exist in isolation. Security threats within the metaverse carried through the actions of avatars will not be mitigated to the extent that is needed. The metaverse is a 3D digital interface. Every action, every click, every movement a person makes has independent consequences. This doesn’t necessarily have to be negative. My research has led to the method of using the form and interactivity of the metaverse as an enabler of positive actions. As a designer working within this industry, I have realised that we as designers have the power to direct the use of a product or service through design. We are presented with what a client, in this case an avatar in a metaverse wants and we simultaneously formulate their needs. Needs aren’t always readily recognised by the users. We can create interactions and journeys for the user that cater to these requirements. Similarly, actions of an avatar can be managed through the affordances we create within the metaverse. Each click has a consequence, be it opening a page, walking to your virtual car, placing a virtual call, entering a virtual concert hall. The resultant effects of the actions taken by avatar can be created in a way that desensitises a bad action or negative behaviour. Weaving this into the fabric of the design of the metaverse could counter the negative and fraudulent behaviour to a large extent.

This isn’t to state that I believe this in an ultimate solution. I conquer that this will enable a fundamental layer of decreasing negative actions. Added security measures will have to be in place to make the metaverse a coherent and secure platform, protecting the digital identity of an avatar.  

On a technical front, I have identified various technical components that make up the metaverse. One such component of metaverse as a 3D space are “Vox-cells” (3D Pixels), these cells correlate data and its visual representation (Hughes et al., 2019).  These cells would make up the visual of an avatar. Further research needs to be conducted to analyse how an avatar’s data can be dynamically linked to these cells. The data will not be limited to the identity of the avatar, but also includes the digital assets they own in the metaverse (house, clothing, cars, etc.). These purchases can be linked to each other at the back end as an encrypted code within the vox cells. Encryption development already encodes the data of an avatar on the blockchain. Development on linking this data to vox cells would enable these assets to be of use only when they co-exist with the relevant data of an avatar (Complete). This will render the asset redundant if stolen and tried to be used independently (Incomplete). These vox-cells that represent the avatar already have the functionality of geo-location, as it is a necessary part of navigating through the metaverse. This research will enable constantly updating encryption that uses this geo-location and will render the theft futile for hackers. This can be deployed for every asset within the metaverse, making it a scalable approach.

There are a lot of avenues to explore to create more robust systems to tackle Data Security, Privacy, and Identity theft. My research has indicated that multiple systems will have to be placed in different capacities to achieve this objective.

5.     Reflections

Large-spread implications of Metaverse around society, politics and identity is challenging to rationalize. It is impossible to accurately define the repercussions of a technology that is yet to be deployed at its full capacity. Yet we can take inferences from what we have learnt throughout our journey of Digital Innovation.

Philosophical roots of identity such as the Id “needs and desires” will create blind spots or give rise to hidden affordances, which need to be further analysed and used to develop the norms for the real-world implications of an Avatar in a metaverse. I find immense merit in learning from the philosophical fundamentals of us as humans and a society. This approach will aid to predict human behavioural patterns and create countermeasures or affordances to be applied to Avatars individually and to the Metaverse. Each avatar should have a legal identity of its own. This can be achieved through policy making, engineering of intricate encryptions, creating laws and jurisdictions tailored to the metaverse. No single act in isolation will achieve an unbreachable metaverse. Many innovations and research are being conducting in this field ranging from tech innovation to governance. The true merits of these advancements can only be proved when applied to the metaverse. The interactions and engagement of avatars in this realm will be the guiding factor in determining how efficient these steps will be to counter Data security, Identity Theft and Privacy.

At the end of the day, a metaverse is a software, an intricate algorithm prone to vulnerabilities. This will be a continual iterative journey, learning from instances, user experiences and feedback.