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Music-Based Covert Channel in the Lord of the Rings Online

2023; Linguagem: Inglês

10.11159/cdsr23.198

2368-5433

Jess Beckwith, Craig Gebo, Daryl Johnson,

Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies

This paper discusses a new music-based covert channel implemented within The Lord of the Rings Online, an online MMORPG.Many MMORPG video games have been used to implement covert channels to communicate between a sender and receiver while an observer is denied knowledge of the communication.Covert channels can be used as a method of secret communication between malicious actors or to provide a voice for those who are silenced by censorship.This covert channel is unique in that it utilizes the ingame music system to send messages by encoding ASCII characters into binary and then into music notes which can be played in the game.The implementation of this covert channel involves a sender who generates an ABC file containing the notes that represent the encoded message.The ABC file can be used to play the music within the game.The receiver uses audio recording software and music transcription software to extract the decoded message.A proof of concept implementation of this covert channel proved that it is effective for covertly communicating messages within The Lord of the Rings Online.