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Secure Web Objects: Building Blocks for Metaverse Interoperability and Decentralization

Tianyuan Yu, Xinyu Ma, Varun Patil, Yekta Kocaogullar, Yulong Zhang, Jeff Burke, Dirk Kutscher, Lixia Zhang

TL;DR

The paper tackles the mismatch between current transport-focused Web security and the data-oriented needs of Metaverse-like applications. It proposes Secure Web Objects (SWO), a data-centric security model built on Named Data Networking (NDN) that secures objects by name rather than by channel, enabling local-first and decentralized interoperability. Through prototypes like the Microverse Editor and NDN Workspace, it demonstrates secure object exchange, offline collaboration, and CRDT-based synchronization, forming a foundation for data-immuatable, interoperable Web objects. The work outlines a comprehensive research agenda across naming, security, interactions, application frameworks, and communication, aiming to reduce central intermediaries and enable scalable, resilient, cross-platform collaboration in immersive Web environments.

Abstract

This position paper explores how to support the Web's evolution through an underlying data-centric approach that better matches the data-orientedness of modern and emerging applications. We revisit the original vision of the Web as a hypermedia system that supports document composability and application interoperability via name-based data access. We propose the use of secure web objects (SWO), a data-oriented communication approach that can reduce complexity, centrality, and inefficiency, particularly for collaborative and local-first applications, such as the Metaverse and other collaborative applications. SWO are named, signed, application-defined objects that are secured independently of their containers or communications channels, an approach that leverages the results from over a decade-long data-centric networking research. This approach does not require intermediation by aggregators of identity, storage, and other services that are common today. We present a brief design overview, illustrated through prototypes for two editors of shared hypermedia documents: one for 3D and one for LaTeX. We also discuss our findings and suggest a roadmap for future research.

Secure Web Objects: Building Blocks for Metaverse Interoperability and Decentralization

TL;DR

The paper tackles the mismatch between current transport-focused Web security and the data-oriented needs of Metaverse-like applications. It proposes Secure Web Objects (SWO), a data-centric security model built on Named Data Networking (NDN) that secures objects by name rather than by channel, enabling local-first and decentralized interoperability. Through prototypes like the Microverse Editor and NDN Workspace, it demonstrates secure object exchange, offline collaboration, and CRDT-based synchronization, forming a foundation for data-immuatable, interoperable Web objects. The work outlines a comprehensive research agenda across naming, security, interactions, application frameworks, and communication, aiming to reduce central intermediaries and enable scalable, resilient, cross-platform collaboration in immersive Web environments.

Abstract

This position paper explores how to support the Web's evolution through an underlying data-centric approach that better matches the data-orientedness of modern and emerging applications. We revisit the original vision of the Web as a hypermedia system that supports document composability and application interoperability via name-based data access. We propose the use of secure web objects (SWO), a data-oriented communication approach that can reduce complexity, centrality, and inefficiency, particularly for collaborative and local-first applications, such as the Metaverse and other collaborative applications. SWO are named, signed, application-defined objects that are secured independently of their containers or communications channels, an approach that leverages the results from over a decade-long data-centric networking research. This approach does not require intermediation by aggregators of identity, storage, and other services that are common today. We present a brief design overview, illustrated through prototypes for two editors of shared hypermedia documents: one for 3D and one for LaTeX. We also discuss our findings and suggest a roadmap for future research.
Paper Structure (20 sections, 1 figure)

This paper contains 20 sections, 1 figure.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. A New Path
  3. Experiments with SWOs
  4. Functional Supports for SWO
  5. Microverse Editor
  6. NDN Workspace
  7. Preliminary Evaluation
  8. New Insights and Challenges
  9. Research Agenda
  10. Naming
  11. Security
  12. Interactions
  13. Application Frameworks
  14. Communication
  15. Related Work
  16. ...and 5 more sections

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: A collaborative 3D editing scenario among Alice, Bob and Jane, who have obtained their identifiers by adding the application prefix "/3DEditor" in front of their own identifiers.