Security Watch | Matt Hines » Second Lifers getting locked out at work

March 15, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Second Lifers getting locked out at work

TAGS: Security

It looks like those people who can't get enough virtual living done in their free time may be losing the chance to play the popular Second Life online video game on the job.

Security software vendor Sophos announced that on March 22 it will release an updated version of its flagship anti-virus package that offers tools designed specifically to help IT administrators keep the game off limits to users on their networks.

SL, as the cool kids call it, already claims to have well over 4 million registered users, and much media coverage has been devoted in the last few months to people who have made careers out of playing the game. One such person is virtual real estate agent Ailin Graef, who has reportedly generated $1 million in assets developing parcels of land in the simulated world.

While some people believe that the often devoted users of the game need to get real lives, Sophos claims the problem of players logging on at work is growing. In addition to hurting productivity -- which isn't too newsworthy since video games were invented for the purpose of wasting time -- the vendor points to what it claims as a growing risk of identity theft related to logging onto the virtual world.

However, only one such incident related to the game has been reported publicly, when hackers made off with a Second Life database that held the password and log-in data of about 650,000 gamers in Sept. 2006. In another security incident, players were blocked from accessing the game by a virus in Nov. '06.

In addition to those types of schemes, the security company claims that participants of such games -- in which users create much of the content, and sometimes referred to as Web 2.0 applications -- are "creating new avenues for cyber-criminals seeking the easiest point of entry to the network."

Sophos said that in a recent online poll it sponsored of more than 450 system administrators, 90.4 percent of respondents told the company that they wanted the ability to block games.

"Second Life practically provides criminals an open invitation to do as they please with minimal effort, and that is scary," Sophos Analyst Ron O’Brien said in a statement. "Organizations must set certain policies that ensure that employees are contributing to the success of the business, rather than jeopardizing it."

The update will be made available for free to users of Sophos AV 6.0 products.

Looks like it's time to start working from home Second Lifers. No, not that home, your real home.

Posted by Matt Hines on March 15, 2007 01:15 PM

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