This paper introduces the Coat-Hanger Star Mesh (CHSM), a novel zero-trust networking overlay designed to secure decentralized and federated virtual world environments. Historically, platforms like OpenSimulator (OpenSim) have suffered from persistent privacy and security vulnerabilities, including cleartext UDP/TCP transit and the exposure of users' real-world IP addresses. CHSM addresses these deficiencies by decoupling network security from the application layer through a "Sidecar" architecture.

Utilizing ActivityPub as a decentralized signaling plane, CHSM enables Just-In-Time (JIT) WireGuard tunnel negotiation between independent nodes without reliance on a central authority. The architecture employs a "Coat-Hanger" metaphor: a user’s device acts as a "rack" supporting multiple, independent encrypted "hangers" to remote destinations, ensuring strict traffic isolation and multi-homing capability.

Sweet, Fiona, Coat-Hanger Star Mesh (CHSM): A Zero-Trust Federated Networking Architecture for Decentralized Virtual World Infrastructure (March 18, 2026). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6438420 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6438420