Millions warned over ‘inception attack’ that uses virtual reality to manipulate and steal from you, cyber experts warn
VIRTUAL reality headsets including the Meta Quest and the new Apple Vision Pro are at risk of being hacked.
That's according to researchers who discovered that VR wearables can leave users and their data vulnerable.
The hack has been called the inception attack, after Christopher Nolan's 2010 mind-bending movie Inception.
It involves a victim wearing a VR headset and cybercriminals hacking in and adding an inception layer.
The victim's reality is then distorted as they're viewing something unfamiliar.
This is said to leave them vulnerable and more easily manipulated into giving away private details and data.
Researchers have described the hack in a study published on preprint server arXiv.
"Recent advances in virtual reality (VR) system provide fully immersive interactions that connect users with online resources, applications, and each other.
"Yet these immersive interfaces can make it easier for users to fall prey to a new type of security attacks," the researchers warned.
They go on to explain how an inception attack can leave a VR headset user feeling trapped.
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"We introduce the inception attack, where an attacker controls and manipulates a user's interaction with their VR environment and applications, by trapping them inside a malicious VR application that masquerades as the full VR system.
"Once trapped in an "inception VR layer", all of the user's interactions with remote servers, network applications, and other VR users can be recorded or modified without their knowledge," the paper continued.
The study involved testing the hack on several participants.
Only 37 percent of study participants were said to notice a slight glitch when the inception layer was added to the VR headset.
Researchers also demonstrated how they could use a cloned VR chat app to eavesdrop on conversations and obtain information.
The attack was said to work on all Meta Quest VR headsets.
What is VR? Virtual reality explained
Here's what you need to know about the revolutionary tech...
- Virtual reality allows you to experience and interact with a 3D world that isn’t real.
- To enter this virtual world you must don a VR helmet – a headset with a screen inside that makes you feel like you’re somewhere else.
- This mounted display strapped to your eyes mixed with stereo sound and movement tracking lets you explore this immersive virtual world.
- You turn your head and the environemnt turns with you, making the illusion feel even more “real”.
- Modern VR headsets began as expensive PC-linked helmets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, but cheaper options quickly emerged, including affordable goggles like the Samsung Gear VR that work by slotting a smartphone in the headset.
- The downloadable apps range from VR games to 360-degree videos created by publishers like the BBC and The Discovery Channel.
- They can transport you to 3D worlds that aren’t accessible in real life, like a trip to Mars or a spin behind the wheel of a futuristic sports car.
- Until recently, these experiences relied on a PC or smartphone to generate this virtual world.
- But now headsets like the Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, and Apple Vision Pro run using their own built-in computing systems