Gamertell

Massive Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, are among the most popular genres and currently attract millions of users. One of the most popular, World of Warcraft, has recently surpassed nine million subscribers around the world.

Users can trade goods and services in these virtual worlds and many times real money is used as the basis for the transactions (wth in-game credits based on real-world cash). Unfortunately hackers tend to attack environments where lots of people gather so that they can obtain easy profits by cheating and tricking users.

Because of the MMO’s architecture, a big part of the program must be installed on the user’s computer, putting that area beyond the control of traditional firewalls. Security experts say there is little protection on these environments against attacks so they have come up with a solution that may delight some and anger others: play at work.

Corporate networks are generally safer than home based networks because they employ more robust security measures. “In the enterprise space, networks are protected by intrusion protection systems. This involves much more security than the firewall used by consumers. The firewall is completely useless against game site malware,” said John Carmichael, security trainer and engineer for Security Innovation.

Intrusion protection systems would interfere with the performance of traditional home connections so that would affect the gameplay. These systems are better suited for high-traffic corporate networks so, ironically, it would be better to go on raids during your 9 to 5 than on your free time.

Now you finally have a real excuse for your boss.

Read [Tech News World]