Re: Viral Cure Could 'Immunise' The Internet

[Edward Lewis <Ed.Lewis () neustar biz>]

At 9:30 -0500 12/9/05, sgorman1 () gmu edu wrote:
> Thought folks might find this interesting
>
> http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8403
>
> Viral Cure Could 'Immunise' The Internet, New Scientist
>
> Excerpts: A cure for computer viruses that spreads in a viral fashion could
> immunise the internet, even against pests that travel at lightning speed, a
> mathematical study reveals.
>
> Most conventional anti-virus programs use "signatures" to identify and block
> viruses. But experts must first analyse a virus before sending out the fix.
> This means that rapidly spreading viruses can cause widespread damage before
> being stopped.
>
>
> Source: Viral Cure Could 'Immunise' The Internet, Kurt Kleiner, NewScientist,
> 05/12/01

This has been thought of many times.  My spin around this was 
attached to DARPA's Active Network 
(http://www.darpa.mil/ato/programs/AN/).

The eternal question in security is "what are you defending against?" 
Because of that, security will always have a strong reactionary 
element.

I can't cite any, but I recall hearing some claims that viruses in 
the past were meant to fix problems or highlight in a benign way the 
presence of problems.  It's been tried in real life, I don't see that 
a mathematical study is going to come up with a result that is more 
meaningful.
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Edward Lewis                                                +1-571-434-5468
NeuStar

3 months to the next trip.  I guess it's finally time to settle down and
find a grocery store.