Is Virtual Reality Susceptible to Hacking?
Are you worried that your virtual reality headset may be vulnerable to malicious hackers? Recent research by computer scientists from the University of California, Riverside, suggests that VR and AR technology may be at risk of being hacked. The research team will present their findings at the upcoming Usenix Security Symposium.
What is the Risk?
The research team, led by Professors Nael Abu-Ghazaleh and Jiasi Chen, have found that surveillance software could be used to track user movements and convert them to written speech or text with a 90% accuracy rate. This means that hackers could access personal data, such as passwords typed into virtual keyboards, as well as track the user’s interactions with the hardware devices. They could even monitor the user’s surrounding space, including the proximity of other individuals to the user.
University of California, Riverside doctoral student Yicheng Zhang and guest Assistant Professor from Harvey Mudd College, Slocum, have written two research papers that will be discussed at the conference. Zhang’s paper, titled ‘It’s all in your head(set): Side-channel attacks on AR/VR systems’, explains how hackers can exploit users’ body movements, speech, and typing actions on the virtual keyboard. Slocum’s paper, titled ‘Going through the motions: AR/VR keylogging from user head motions’, discusses the security threats that come with virtual keyboards and how hackers can capture passwords typed in using head motions.
The team has also created a system called TyPose, which uses machine learning to collect user gestures and movements and interpret them into characters or words as the user types.
What Can We Do?
The research team’s goal is to alert the tech industry of the security risks that come with using virtual reality and augmented reality technology. Professor Abu-Ghazaleh stated that they are working to show the possibility of such threats and to provide transparency to give tech giants the chance to address these security issues.
It is important to note that the research team has not yet identified any actual security breaches, but they are warning of the potential risks. It is up to the tech industry to ensure that their products are secure and that user data is protected.
Conclusion
As virtual reality and augmented reality technology continues to grow in popularity, it is important to be aware of the potential security risks. Recent research by computer scientists from the University of California, Riverside has found that VR and AR technology may be vulnerable to hacking. The research team will present their findings at the upcoming Usenix Security Symposium. It is up to the tech industry to ensure that their products are secure and that user data is protected.