Text Size
Print
Email
National News
- Text Size
- Print
- Email
Biometrics to Catch Virtual Criminals?
Security researchers presenting at an upcoming conference in Baltimore will discuss the rise of criminal activity in virtual worlds such as Second Life, and will show attendees how to connect avatars' faces to real-life criminals.
Though some of these worlds are very well developed, law enforcement has yet to grapple with the implications of these virtual worlds, as evidenced by one incident in Japan several years ago in which police arrested a person who manipulated an avatar in an online video game to rob other players, steal their virtual belongings, and then siphon those possessions into an online auction site for real-world money.
The FBI reports that it also has investigated gambling in virtual worlds, and has reportedly probed Second Life's virtual casinos to find individuals who are making thousands of dollars a month in real-world profits.
Experts say that any platform where money changes hands will eventually be used for illegal activities, and some computer scientists working in the field of facial recognition of avatars are now working on biometrics that would authenticate the identity of virtual-world users.
Computer scientists say it is easy to track down troublemakers online since each Second Life character, for example, is identified by a username and is connected to a real person, but acknowledge the real threat is in the future, when virtual worlds are likely to decentralize and operate on peer-to-peer networks.
2025 The Background Investigator. All Rights Reserved.