REVIEW article
Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Enhancing user authentication and security in Metaverse: a review of innovative techniques and the role of zero-trust models
Provisionally accepted
- Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
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Metaverse is a novel concept that enables human interactions in virtual worlds. The usage of Metaverse operating on virtual reality (VR) spaces is increasing where users can interact between themselves and digital devices. Artificial Intelligences (AIs) are also helping in the evolution of Metaverse. AIs and Metaverse are two quickly developing technologies that have the potential to drastically alter communications and lifestyles of humans. Integrating AIs within Metaverse have opened up application possibilities that were previously considered inconceivable. The ability to create personalized user experiences based on their tastes and behaviors, automate tedious jobs, and free up resources for more complex and imaginative endeavours are some of the possible advantages of implementing AIs in Metaverse. The technological world needs to be updated about Metaverse for fully utilizing its true potential. This work provides a thorough review on role of AIs and other emerging technologies including blockchains, Internet of Things (IoTs), VR, Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), and Natural Language Processes (NLPs) in Metaverse. Metaverse also brings new opportunities in cyber security as the usages of AIs, blockchain, and cloud computing increase. Despite being hailed as a promising new technology, early experiences in Metaverse suggest that security issues need to be addressed for fulfilling its promises. This work opines that Metaverse Security Architecture may be built on zero-trust principles as it can address most security issues of Metaverse and hence suggests a workable Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA) framework for Metaverse with the aim of enhancing user authentications and security in Metaverse.
Keywords: augmented reality, Extended Reality, Metaverse, User authentication, virtual reality, Zero-Trust Security
Received: 24 Nov 2025; Accepted: 21 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ellapan and E. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vijayan Ellapan
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.