Virtual world security inspection : a software inspection process carried out on popular virtual world environments Patterson, Nicholas and Hobbs, Michael 2011, Virtual world security inspection : a software inspection process carried out on popular virtual world environments, in ATIS 2011 : Proceedings of the 2nd Applications and Techniques in Information Security Workshop, School of Information Systems, Deakin University, Melbourne, Vic., pp. 1-9. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Virtual world security inspection : a software inspection process carried out on popular virtual world environments Author(s) Patterson, Nicholas orcid.org/0000-0003-4565-3614 Hobbs, Michael orcid.org/0000-0002-7556-6274 Conference name Applications and Techniques in Information Security. Workshop (2nd : 2011 : Melbourne, Victoria) Conference location Melbourne, Victoria Conference dates 9 Nov. 2011 Title of proceedings ATIS 2011 : Proceedings of the 2nd Applications and Techniques in Information Security Workshop Editor(s) Warren, Matthew Publication date 2011 Conference series Applications and Techniques in Information Security Workshop Start page 1 End page 9 Total pages 9 Publisher School of Information Systems, Deakin University Place of publication Melbourne, Vic. Keyword(s) virtual worlds virtual property theft real money trading keylogging vulnerability software inspection Summary  Virtual property theft is a serious problem that exists in virtual worlds. Legitimate users of these worlds invest considerable amounts of time, effort and real-world money into obtaining virtual property, but unfortunately, are becoming victims of theft in high numbers. It is reported that there are over 1 billion registered users of virtual worlds containing virtual property items worth an estimated US$50 billion dollars. The problem of virtual property theft is complex, involving many legal, social and technological issues. The software used to access virtual worlds is of great importance as they form the primary interface to these worlds and as such the primary interface to conduct virtual property theft. The security vulnerabilities of virtual world applications have not, to date, been examined. This study aims to use the process of software inspection to discover security vulnerabilities that may exist within virtual world software – vulnerabilities that enable virtual property theft to occur. Analyzing three well know virtual world applications World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and Entropia Universe, this research utilized security analysis tools and scenario testing with focus on authentication, trading, intruder detection and virtual property recovery. It was discovered that all three examples were susceptible to keylogging, mail and direct trade methods were the most likely method for transferring stolen items, intrusion detection is of critical concern to all VWEs tested, stolen items were unable to be recovered in all cases and lastly occurrences of theft were undetectable in all cases. The results gained in this study present the key problem areas which need to be addressed to improve security and reduce the occurrence of virtual property theft. ISBN 9780987229809 Language eng Field of Research 100605 Performance Evaluation; Testing and Simulation of Reliability Socio Economic Objective 970110 Expanding Knowledge in Technology HERDC Research category E1 Full written paper - refereed HERDC collection year 2011 Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30041515 Document type: Conference Paper Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Information Technology   Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Tue, 17 Jan 2012, 06:11:23 EST Tue, 17 Jan 2012, 06:13:17 EST Tue, 17 Jan 2012, 06:13:59 EST Thu, 19 Jan 2012, 08:17:36 EST Thu, 19 Jan 2012, 08:54:32 EST Wed, 01 Feb 2012, 08:17:05 EST Wed, 01 Feb 2012, 09:09:59 EST Tue, 24 Apr 2012, 10:31:04 EST Wed, 23 May 2012, 11:00:39 EST Wed, 23 May 2012, 11:02:19 EST Wed, 23 May 2012, 11:21:26 EST Wed, 23 May 2012, 11:44:01 EST Wed, 23 May 2012, 11:46:09 EST Mon, 04 Jun 2012, 16:39:04 EST Tue, 05 Jun 2012, 09:27:20 EST Tue, 05 Jun 2012, 09:28:26 EST Tue, 05 Jun 2012, 09:35:01 EST Tue, 05 Jun 2012, 09:37:40 EST Wed, 06 Jun 2012, 09:15:52 EST Wed, 27 Aug 2014, 22:52:15 EST Wed, 03 Dec 2014, 09:45:05 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 0 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 847 Abstract Views, 14 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Tue, 17 Jan 2012, 06:10:56 EST by Nicholas Charles Patterson