Communicating security & privacy information in virtual reality

Virtual Reality is becoming more affordable and will soon become ubiquitous within society. However, currently the technology is not there yet, as virtual reality can pose security and privacy risks to a user which they may not be aware of. In Virtual Reality, information is always being collected, even when the user may believe the headset is turned off [1, 2]. Modern day headsets, are “always on”[1, 2]. This allows for companies to gain access to data without proper consent from the users or bystanders around the headset [2]. This data can be sold to third parties [2, 3], used for internal data analytics [5] or even stolen through a man in the middle attack. With the sheer quantity of data being collected, it is very plausible that the collection of virtual reality data may even lead to adjustments of quality, pricing of items and targeted advertisements [2, 5].
The attacks and misuse of infrared sensors data on the Head Mount Display (HMD) also pose a real threat to a user’s security and privacy [2]. An individual could become a victim to blackmail, due to the clarity of the infrared image. For example, the appearance, facial expressions [4] and the surroundings [2], can be seen with sufficient detail which could lead to non-consensual data collection of both the user and their environment.