Virtual Worlds, Real Money: Security and Privacy in Massively-Multiplayer Online Games and Social and Corporate Virtual Worlds

2007 was the year of online gaming fraud - with malicious programs that specifically target online games and virtual worlds increasing by 145% and the emergence of over 30,000 new programs aimed at stealing online game passwords. Such malware is invariably aimed at the theft of virtual property accumulated in a user's account and its sale for real money. With nearly 1 billion registered users of MMO/VWs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games and Virtual Worlds) and real-money sales of virtual objects estimated at nearly US$ 2 billion worldwide at the end of 2007, this is a serious issue. Another important area of risk is the disclosure of private data. MMO/VWs are commonly perceived as being completely separate from the real lives of their users and therefore immune to privacy risks.