Virtual worlds, real attacks

When I see my son playing online computer games I am worried!

I am worried not because he spends too much time in front of a computer – it is the abundance of security issues that surround contemporary online gaming that makes me uneasy. I just had to do something about that.

So what I have tried to do is list the security problems related to online games and humbly suggest some possible solutions. The result is a research white paper that has just been posted on our Web site:

 http://www.mcafee.com/us/local_content/white_papers/threat_center/wp_online_gaming.pdf.

If you are interested in topics like game-related money-laundering, virtual terrorist attacks, stolen virtual identities, game-related malware, virtual viral outbreaks – I dare you NOT to click the link!

The growth of computer attacks that steal user data is disturbing. The graph below shows this alarming trend. What is probably not commonly known is that approximately 40-50% of these attacks specifically target online gamers!

A recent story about a gaming malware that infiltrated the International Space Station is a good indication how serious the problem actually is.

I do believe that most attacks on virtual life can be rendered impossible or uneconomical. Equipped with our current knowledge in security there are no good reasons why our children and their virtual avatars should suffer inside the games from spam, phishing, adware, spyware, Trojans, viruses, worms, and other malware”” all those bugbears that currently plague our real day-to-day lives.