Virtually Secure: A taxonomic assessment of cybersecurity challenges in virtual reality environments

Abstract

Although Virtual Reality (VR) is certainly not a new technology, its recent adoption across several sectors beyond entertainment has led the information security research community to take note of the new cyber threats that come with it. The variety of system components presents an extensive attack surface that can be exploited. At the same time, VR’s emphasis on immersion, interaction and presence means that the user can be targeted directly, yet the use of head-mounted displays may prevent them from observing a cyber attack’s impact in their immediate physical environment. This paper presents the first taxonomic representation of VR security challenges. By systemically classifying existing VR cyber threats against existing defences in a single comparative matrix, we aim to help researchers from different backgrounds to identify key focus areas where further research would be most beneficial.