Cyber Crime is Crime Nonetheless

First of all let me say that I have no experience in MMORPGs, I have no experience in hacking, and I am not an expert in the subjects I am talking about.  As a result take everything I say with a grain of salt.

 

That having been said…  In this month’s issue of WIRED magazine there is an article about people groups of clandestine hackers that commit cybercrimes on MMORPGs.  The article details who groups of people, “griefers” attack internet communities, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, in an attempt to, put simply, make the users cry.  According to the article, leaders of these groups have said that they attempt to blur the line between the fiction of games and the reality that people project onto the games.  In essence they are the school bully who makes fun of a kid for thinking Dungeons and Dragons is real.

 

Personally, I agree with their basic premise.  We do turn alternate reality into reality too much.  When we spend thousands of dollars a year buying upgrades for an avatar who doesn’t exist we are in essence, paying for a delusion.  While some people accept that, others actually attempt to profit off of alternate realities by selling alternate reality real estate, playing the game for people to increase their abilities, and selling characters who have advanced far in the games.  In the article it talks about how attackers in the digital world have attacked these Second Life moguls and harassed their clientele.  I understand the idea that it is all part of the game, but once you are actually disrupting real cash revenue doesn’t the real law have to apply?

As I sat down at my computer I came upon an article on Yahoo! News, reprinted from WIRED magazine’s blog with the title, “Anonymous Hackers Track Saboteur, Find and Punish the Wrong Guy”.  Basically what happened is: apparently a war between anti-Scientology and pro-Scientology hackers has been occurring on the internet.  One of these groups of anti-Scientology hackers, from the same community of people who are griefers, tracked an “enemy” hacker to a certain IP address in Stockton, California owned by a 59 year old man and his wife.  After posting their personal information (Address, Phone Number, Social Security Number) on the internet he received harassing phone calls and death threats.  Upon finding out about their mistake the griefers, also known as “g00ns”, promptly took down the information and issued an apology.

 

Fine, case closed right!  I say not.  If this weren’t cyber-crime but real crime the police (assuming they could find the culprits) would be breaking down doors and making arrests for harassment.  Instead, nothing.  This is a serious issue that will face the coming nation in the near future and demands the attention of lawmakers.  Of course, I think it is safe to say that few lawmakers would understand, let alone care, about cyber-crime.  As a nation we need to develop strict rules as to the culpability of crimes committed on the internet.  Where does the innocent interrupting an attack on another character turn into stealing upgrades that a character has purchased?  Where does the innocent (though not necessarily legal) messing with someone’s computer turn into putting a person in physical danger?

 

The story I told was about a man who got caught in the crossfire of a virtual war, why are the combatants who have harmed him less culpable than the gangs who hit innocent civilians during gang wars.  I’m not an expert, but I do know that something has to be done or else sooner or later, the internet will start claiming fatalities… if it hasn’t already.