NSA Video Games Paper - American Civil Liberties Union
NSA Video Games Paper - American Civil Liberties Union
NSA Video Games Paper - American Civil Liberties Union
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<strong>Games</strong>: A Look at Emerging Trends, Uses, Threats and Opportunities in Influence Activities<br />
Frequent interaction with his network helps the leader monitor the level of his team<br />
members' commitment to the cause and ensure that they do not waver from the group's<br />
tactical and strategic missions. This also helps the leader prevent members from<br />
"defecting" or otherwise becoming a threat to the cell.<br />
Some of the terrorist network members living in a remote location with Internet access<br />
raise funds via "gold farming," a virtual form of the "sweat shop." Their laborers play<br />
games to develop the best, strongest in-game characters which are then sold online for a<br />
profit at sites like E-bay.tt<br />
• Because of the games' entertainment value, terrorist network members encourage<br />
players to "work" for them or raise funds themselves by simply playing games<br />
and then selling items.<br />
Other network associates participate in traditional fundraising. Second L~fe allows players<br />
to contact the organizer of like-groups, perhaps "humanitarian" organizations that support<br />
particular causes, and send mass emails to encourage participation in special interest<br />
events. Donations are laundered to fund terror activities.<br />
• Terrorist groups are introduced to new sympathizers in this way.<br />
• Other associates hold invitation-only "town meetings" or "group meetings" to<br />
impress viewpoints upon potential recruits.<br />
Virtual Worlds and MMORPGs as a Film Set<br />
Machinima: From Game space to <strong>Video</strong><br />
Gaming can serve as a platform for propaganda video production. For example,<br />
machinima is filmmaking within the real-time 3D virtual environment of a video game.<br />
All that is required is a game and a desktop computer. 1 xiv The combination of machinima<br />
software and a virtual world or video game such as Planet Battlefield, allows one to film<br />
their in-game activities as they play to develop a film which is easily distributed over the<br />
Internet.<br />
Terrorists could easily exploit this technology. Through the use of virtual<br />
characters and audio mash-ups a terrorist could anonymously create machinima films that<br />
included speeches, updates, and briefings. He could use the technology of virtual<br />
communities to create target sites to convey to cell members the next planned attack, use<br />
games to give a visual plan of how the attack should be carried out, and familiarize<br />
teammates with the terrain of the intended site with the technology of Second L~fe.<br />
Additionally, one could use machinima to create a likable, militant hero with whom their<br />
target audience could identify.<br />
tt Durin the month of' December, SAIC anal sts eriodicall checked e-Ba for characters and items for<br />
sale. It was common to see a high-level character with special skills in World ofWarcraft or Everquest on<br />
sale for approximately US$2,000 with only minutes left in the auctions.<br />
FOUO -Not for Public Distribution<br />
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