Security expert Brandon Nesbit is about to give a talk on how video games and consoles can help catch a criminal. Or, if you're under investigation and did nothing wrong, how they can clear your name!
It's all in the alibi. Nesbit, who will soon give a presentation to the DEFCON Security Conference, will be pointing out to cops and other types at the show how the logs that games like World of Warcraft keep, along with features present in consoles like the Xbox 360, can be of much greater help to investigators than most cops and other agents currently realise.
"For example, if someone is trying to prove that Suspect A was running an attack against a World of Warcraft server, there will be logs to indicate that fact within World of Warcraft," he says. "Or if someone wants to defend themselves, they can say, 'whoa Mr. Investigator...check those logs, I was playing Team Fortress 2 at the time.'"
Oh to be in a courtroom where that statement is read aloud.
"Moreover, if you have a video console it is important to keep in mind that this generation of video game consoles, and likely subsequent generations, is about controlling your living room," he adds. "Meaning that a video game console no longer is just a toy that runs a game cartridge or CD/DVD. These devices now hook into your home network; allowing users to store everything from: files, pictures, movies, you name it...it can be stored. And where there's data, there is information that is of interest to a forensics investigator."
"The idea [is] that traditionally, in my experience at least, a forensics investigator will gloss over this type of evidence. I try to point out in the presentation that this should no longer happen as there's a wealth of information to be garnered, both on game consoles and PCs."
He'll give his talk on August 1. Hopefully people are taking notes!
How Video Games Can Be Sources for Investigators [Security Watch]