The last few days have seen some consternation in the Second Life economic markets as several banks have had their servers brute-forced hacked. Understandably there is a fair amount of uncertainty as some of the affected parties are being less than forthcoming, but according to Nobody Fugazi, normally a reliable commentator, the following banks have been attacked, although SLIB seems to have escaped without any loses:- L&L Bank and Trust
- SL Investor's Bank
- Giovinazzo Choice Investments
- Whitfield Holdings/Royal Invest
- SL Business Bank
Of course, if the FBI do get involved (I'm not 100% sure, but pretty sure the managers of LNLBT are based in the USA, so the FBI are probably the right enforcement agency) will they also take an interest in the, so far, totally unregulated financial markets in Second Life? Real life banks and stock exchanges are tightly regulated to try and reduce this sort of thing, and to offer insurance to the customers, not the bankers. (British people reading this might look at Northern Rock - the situation is different, but several steps have been taken, up to and including the government underwriting the bank to prevent it going under because it was properly regulated).
Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back and causes banking and stock exchanges in Second Life to become properly and fully regulated? If this does happen, one has to wonder how many of the banks and stock exchanges will survive.
