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Second Life hackers get second hand data
Second Life (SL) is that online world in which you can work, play, build, and a myriad of other things, even own land and build your own hair and clothes. Some people even make a living out of it. One thing that an online world built much like real-life (RL, also known as first-life) shouldn't have is identity theft. Hackers broke into Second Life's database and may have made off with many members real-life addresses and payment information. Not good. Yahoo's coverage of the breach suggests that perhaps online gaming destinations are an easier target than banks, which pay through the nose for security products to protect their customers. SL needs to do the same. It is purely unacceptable that they do not have better security in place. I think online games tend to put usability and functionality ahead of security, but it seems security should be a bit higher on their list of priorities. With 650,000+ members, SL makes a nice target for those with the hacking skills to pull it off. Hopefully the maker of SL (Linden Labs) will fix this gaping hole in the side of their game very soon. Having your identity stolen is not fun.
Comments
2
Subscribe to commentsRobertSep 12th 2006 3:44PM
I just wanted to make a few comments/clarifications about this story. The "650,000+ members" is very exaggerated. That is actually the number of "active" accounts. Members are able to have more than 1 account/avatar in Second Life, and many have 4, 5, even 10+ "alt" accounts.
And about the payment information, only an encrypted version of some payment information was exposed in this security breach.
The "gaping hole" was also fixed within hours of the breach and the site re-opened with re-coded security for the affected section.
I am not trying to defend Linden Lab's security here - there was/is definitely some security planning that needs much improvement. I just dislike when facts and figures are distorted and sensationalized to make a better story, since each revision seems to get worse and worse as it is passed around the net.
So, Linden Lab, please work on your security! And news sites, please check your facts!
MikeNov 1st 2006 4:47PM
I was recently using activeworlds, a similar platform. I ended up in a personal displute with one of the developers and they revealed my real name to the community. These virtual communities are not secure and people use them to live thier lives through, I would suggest that internet law has to be stepped up within these areas to make sure that they are covered and there can be some comeback on security issues like this.