This sounds like a really interesting project. Over the past couple of years, Symantec has been developing a project called ‘Dark Vision’ that digs through underground web sites, forums and chat rooms looking for sensitive information. While it is still a long way from being completed, they state that they currently are not planning on making a mainstream product out of it. If they did though, it would be interesting to see how much sensitive information was collectively digged by everyone using the software. Pretty nifty idea if you ask me.

Researchers at Symantec Corp. have developed a system that mines underground Web sites and chat rooms for sensitive information that is being sold.

Called Dark Vision, the system was first developed in mid-2006, and allows Symantec to “track the underground economy,” said Oliver Friedrichs, director of emerging technologies with Symantec Security Response.

Symantec hasn’t decided yet when or if it will roll Dark Vision into its product line. “At this point it’s really an early prototype,” Friedrichs said. “But we see a number of different opportunities, including the potential to warn consumers where we see their information being disclosed.”

Identity thieves meet with information-buying criminals on a variety of “carder” Web sites, and then meet up in chat rooms or on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels to buy and sell the data.[more]

Tags: Computer Protection