In its latest media advisory, Gartner warned that
companies are exposing themselves to five major security and
risk-management issues if they allow users to access
uncontrolledvirtual worlds.
Steve Prentice, a Gartner vice-president and distinguished
analyst, said if companies were using such sites they should look
to the more heavily moderated sites, such as
There, Kaneva and Activeworlds.
"The risks enterprises face in virtual worlds are real and
significant. They should not be ignored - but neither should the
potential for corporate collaboration and communications," he
said.
Prentice said IT managers need to be more grounded. He
summarised the five main areas in which virtual worlds will
generate tangible threats. These are IT-related security risks
(where unverified applications are downloaded and firewalls
breached)
identity authentication and access management confidentiality
brand and reputation risk management and productivity.
Virtual worlds, he concluded, present a diversion that lead to
significant wasted time and resources.