 Hi, I'm Michael Garcia and I'm a fellow in the share their mic and cyber initiative In 2007 the first iphone was released and 4g connections rolled out a year later With flyscale adoption smartphones and access to 4g mobile apps took off It was unthinkable back then that would use a cell phone against someone's car Translate a menu into different languages in real time and FaceTime someone from across the world was literally no lag time Yet the subsequent implications of these apps were not thought of until the incident start happening few if any Raising long about foreign interference and elections by manipulating social media The sale of American data to unregulated data brokers that could then be bought by law enforcement agencies was one of dystopian future And a proliferation of virtual currency starting with Bitcoin 2009 helped give rise to devastating ransomware attacks All of which brought on by the onset of 4g applications With deployment of 5g towers at the United States 5g cable phones and other devices will increasingly proliferate But the true benefits of 5g will be those taking advantage of reduced up-and-down data streams Primarily virtual reality and augmented reality applications or VR and AR for short The increase adoption of 5g devices United States was for widespread use of AR and VR Primarily known as extended reality applications or XR for short And it'll become accessible through a single or set of metaverses By this I mean a collection of virtual ecosystems that will allow users to interact with each other and Surroundings in a creative and collaborative manner in virtual spaces or physical environments that are digitally manipulated by static or Mobile devices in other words one does not need a VR headset to access the metaverse But one simply only needs access to a cell phone and the internet The global XR market could be anywhere from $496 billion in 2025 which would be an increase from 46.4 billion from 2019 the EU estimates that could create anywhere between 440,000 jobs to 860,000 jobs by 2025 Indeed one prediction estimates that the world could see 23 million jobs created All these numbers may seem a bit fantastical Admittedly it becomes a bit more realistic given the amount of users who could be using XR applications Today Americans from 16 64 years old been average seven hours a day online. You're doing it right now If that trend holds or more likely expands One estimate projects that the metaverse will increase the data usage of each internet user by 20 times Importantly XR applications must be thought beyond video games or form of communication Rather than missus seen as technology that's currently being used or one day will be used in various issues For example since 2017 Hawaii utility in Australia has used VR to allow users to walk through a virtual model of the treatment plan Helping them identify more design problems than traditional walk-throughs US Army Corps engineers is identifying AR VR solutions to help a flood risk management infrastructure But more consequentially is how militaries will use XR technologies and metaverses US military has used XR technology for decades starting the 50s Which the Air Force use simulations to replicate cockpit experiences for pilots since then the importance of XR technology across all US military branches has only grown Just one point US Army has created a synthetic training environment to help train soldiers in realistic battlefields Highlighting these use cases important to detail the significance of the cyber security implications that could arise if a bad actor Exploits vulnerabilities within the systems your headsets for examples will introduce a host of new vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to record audio and steal sensitive information Which actors could also exploit XR software to achieve their goals by taking over a user's VR headset To look at their screen to try on the microphone and install a virus on their computer and others But one of the more unique outcomes that that actor could achieve is by physically manipulating a user This has honestly been dubbed the human joystick phenomenon In fact, one study found that nearly 90% of subjects could have their movements controlled by addition of content to their VR screen One could imagine the consequences that could happen in a military context Moreover bad actors don't need to exploit a headset or an XR software achieve their goals But they can potentially a data hosting provider like a master's provider and launch additional ransomware attacks That would equip the data that is necessary needed for the XR application to function Lastly all these examples such on various aspects of users in organization privacy An issue that we've been grappling with for decades The United States must also contend with how other governments are developing policies to incentivize or regulate their XR market Which could impact how they're used within the United States European Union for example has created a strategy to detail how it will survive its XR market on one hand while simultaneously initiating Processes to decide how to regulate this market on the other South Korea and Japan are investing millions of dollars by government services to their citizens in the Metaverse But more consequential is how China views Metaverse China's created a five-year plan that details how become a global leader in supplying the XR technology supply chain In this plan it notes that they will develop dedicated processing chips for BR near i displays and other key devices China has also taken a prominent role in developing international standards primarily through the UN's focus group on the Metaverse Through this working group the UN is analyzing the technical requirements of the Metaverse for the international community China has represented nearly each of the 10 sub working groups and recently held the focus group second forum in Shanghai this past July As an aside the United States is absent in this focus group Lastly and maybe most concerning the People's Liberation Army is looking to build the battle verse to assist in military training Simulating war scenarios testing new weapons enabling research and supporting communications Compared to China and other countries the United States is woefully behind in establishing any policies to incorporate XR technologies into society Let alone dealing with cybersecurity concerns US government has in fact issued several strategies on national security Merchant tech and cybersecurity that could impact security of XR technologies However, they do not explicitly mention XR or the Metaverse And despite the creation of a congressional caucus on VR and AR issues The Hill has introduced limited bills to address these subsequent concerns Therefore, it is imperative that the US government work closely with industry academia Non-profits and international partners begin thinking about these consequential issues This could include encouraging XR companies to adopt security frameworks and best practices becoming more involved in developing international standards Examining existing regulations and determining if at all the US XR market should receive financial incentives And most notably whether or not we should incorporate these XR technology companies into our critical infrastructure paradigm So that the US government can leverage certain authorities, forums and information sharing protocols to enhance cybersecurity efforts Unfortunately, the over commercialization of the term Metaverse has impeded honest conversations about the implications of insecure Metaverse As a result, US policy makers run afoul repeating a critical past mistake Failing secure technology before ushes in a new era of national security concerns