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The U.S. intelligence community will soon begin searching for real terrorists in virtual worlds, including Second Life and World of Warcraft.Eager to flush out violent extremism wherever it is hiding, the United States is developing software to stop terrorists from gathering in the make-believe Arathi Highlands in WoW, recent reports stated.
A data-mining report from the Director of National Intelligence says the ultimate goal is to automatically find "suspicious behavior and actions" inside the virtual worlds (and then, we presume, bomb them to bits with virtual spy planes and virtual SWAT teams).
Of course, you don't have to be an intelligence expert to understand the threat. If anti-U.S. warlocks ever reach level 32 and learn how to cast the "Curse of the Elements" attack, the consequences would be unthinkable.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Kevin
Yes, focus energy and attention on nerdy teenage boys with no lives. It's a center for anarchism, really.
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Wednesday 27 February
By John Callaghan
I never really look at these articles, but this one was too much. You're so quick to criticize but did you ever think that it maybe a good idea to trace these kind of things? Phone lines, signals, and e-mail are easy to tap, but terrorists might have realized that with all the millions of people on WOW and similar games that it would be extremely hard to trace communications. I think it's disgusting you would mock the government for looking out for YOUR safety in every way possible. What if it came out that terrorists made a successful strike because they were communicating via WOW and nobody was trying to track them? You would probably be the first one to say "Why wasn't the government looking for that?!".
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Wednesday 27 February
By David
the reason that they make fun of it is because the chance of anyone in any terrorist network having the sense of humor to even consider playing such an incredible game are about as remote as having christian membership in jihad. If that is how you feel dude, then be prepared to give up pretty much all your rights and take it up the ass when we find out that it's all a plot to control the world. Besides, this is really funny, now I have to stop spamming "Allah! Allah!" every time I kill a boss.
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Thursday 28 February
By Jason
You think terrorists don't have access to wow? I guess you're right, because all of them live in tents and caves and don't have access to education. You shouldn't assume you know what you're talking about. Maybe this plan isn't the best allocation of resources, but if they can stop one single bomb from going off with this then it was worth it.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Kuthburt
Oh Joy! Now the Government doesn't just read my E-mails, and tap my phones. They can even help to 'Protect' me in my favorite online past time. Oh, Government is there any place you can't invade my Privacy?
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Thursday 28 February
By Jos
Being a member of WoW doesn't require you actually playing all the levels and liking video games. They could simply use it as a communication channel and never fight a single enemy.
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Wednesday 27 February
By B Patterson
As someone has said before me, whoever wrote this article is an absolute fool. It makes just as much sense to create a program to monitor the chat lines in online MMORPG's as there is in monitoring online chat rooms on the web! Seriously, what is the difference between planning an attack via an online chat room and planning one via the chat function in WoW. It's not like their chat monitoring system would affect a single person playing WoW unless they were actually planning something anyway. This article is Grade G balogna.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Ben
My first question is does the govt have the grounds to enforce this? I mean, most MMO's are international, is the US just going to monitor the American servers? It's not exactly hard to switch ur server from my experience.
My next question is: what's the next step? What could the government conceivably rationalize as counterterrorism? Is internet censorship not that far away? I'll admit, that's a pretty big step, but let's just say that if that were the case, I think I'd rather the control of the nets went to the UN.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Erik
So terrorists are going to spend 15.99 a month to go plan in WoW ? i think the government justs wants to monitor absolutely every aspect of the "sub cultures" which is what being a gamer is, because we all know them orcs are planning to drive a bus filled with explosives into some government building.
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Wednesday 27 February
By D rye
O.o woah talk about big brother
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Wednesday 27 February
By Jonathan
Ah gawd, i knew it! Arathi Highland hosts terrorists... Would make sense to go after Prsmatic Shard auctioneer's next. Cmon we all know they are selling that wowgold for their bomb expenses.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Sam
Lol. the Media just wants attention so the ppl of this bullshit country can say,"oh my kids are doing it lets raise the taxes" because it will cost the county money to look into ppl with those nonsense acts. yeah so they meet up to raid Kara or Stormwind so what its just a game. theres no way in hell they can find people on wow who act or plan terrorist acts. So quit the lies and worry about the crime and worry about the killers u guys cant find yet and take care of the damn war. Dont get involved with the games. Because the government will never find out who is what, because alot of kids and teens will mess around and say funny stuff like that. So take care of the bigger problems. ^^
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Wednesday 27 February
By SalokinEnyap
Think about it dudes. This is just the next step of the government monitoring our lives. Phone lines, email, text messaging - this is all tracked already. Now we're going to lose the freedom to even fuck around in a virtual world without being observed. This is the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard. I think everyone in WoW and Second Life etc should pretend to be terrorists in protest of this neo-fascist, Orwellian bullshit.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Kate Roda
Look, no offense John Callaghan and anyone else out there who shares the same thoughts as him but seriously, this has to stop somewhere.
Me and my friends communicate through these web venues every day. Sometimes even in the Arathi Highlands and we've never seen terrorists there...unless they're talking in EXTREME SUPER CODE about how each other's mom sucks, but I digress.
What I'm really trying to say is there is a fine line between the government protecting U.S. citizens and invading our most immediate privacy. If you've ever played WoW you probably don't just going around tapping into other gamers' conversations and spying on their every move. And that makes a great place for us to chat about stuff, because no one cares what we say and it's more fun than sitting in a private chat room for three hours or more.
Bottom line is we have to create the mark in the sand somewhere and I think this is a good place to start. They already tap phone lines, read e-mails and monitor myspace and facebook profiles...what's next after this new whammy? Making it legal for government personnel to just stride into your homes unannounced and go through your drawers? I don't think you'd like them finding your nudie mags, John, I really don't.
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Wednesday 27 February
By Colin McDonald
ZOMG TEH TERRORISTS! AXIS OF EVEL! RAWR!!!
stfu.
if you are so paranoid that an attack will be planned over WoW, than they have already won.
go qq on the forums and gtfo my server Bush.
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Thursday 28 February
By Patrick Wilcox
For all of the people who are saying. "Oh its logical for them to make programs to monitor this", No its really not. Blizzard already has warden programs and chat loggers that store all the bits of data anyone could possibly want. If there was any foundry that terrorist acts were plausible, they would find it in the chat logs that every server has stored, and backed up. These logs logs are used to ban gold farmers, suspend players for misconduct...why not read through them and find a foundation for this wild invasion to our only vestige of escapism? Or... simply IP Ban the entire Middle East?
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Friday 29 February
By mike
This is just a way for public officals to play video games all day instead of investing time into real problems like american medical coverage or poverty in the united states.
I can see it now bush's whole cabinet running around in battle grounds as horde "we cant win the battle against terror but we sure can whip some noob teenage alliance ass"
Go america! right...
Besides the smiting constitution and the total debauchery of the acts of our forefathers you think the mans doing the right thing here? maybe...(could save a life or many, which is a little more important then the freedom to not be monitored when your running around making fun of each others mothers) but like some of you have said our money could be spent on better things
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Monday 03 March
By Enrique
It doesn't matter if the "Terrorists" weren't playing the game- the thing that makes this all really implausable is that it costs $30 dollars initially, and then $15 a month to have an account in WoW. Thats at least $45 dollars initailly, with more to come if they contine, to get a basic chat function that they can get for free thousands of other places on the internet...most of which wont be tracked or stored so easily. They can download Skype, Himachi, etc... and have voice/chat for free that probably isn't monitered like your phone or email, or WoW account.
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Wednesday 05 March
By LALALA629
I completely agree with both sides, the goverment shouldn't have the right to spy on people, but we can't be sitting ducks either. Going to WoW, however odd it may seem, may be somewhat reasonable. I mean, how many people actualy whisper that much? most of the time, your saying things "in public" nayway, so who cares. Who knows? Maybe some of those reatarded gold/hack selling spammers actually are talking in code.
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