-
Computer viruses: A thing of threads and patches
August 25, 2012 Editor 0
LIKE their biological counterparts, computer viruses are locked in an evolutionary arms race. These programs, whose crucial characteristic is that they reproduce by copying themselves onto new machines, began as a curiosity in the early 1980s. Now, however, they—and other, similar, types of malicious software—support a multibillion-dollar industry in which those who use them to steal information and subvert computers struggle with those who devise and sell digital protection. With so much at stake, malware, as it is known, gets ever sneakier, while the programs designed to detect it must get cleverer and cleverer just to keep up.A paper presented to a conference in Bellevue, Washington, earlier this month describes—for the enlightenment of the white hats in this arms race—an innovation that may make viruses still sneakier. Its authors, Vishwath Mohan and Kevin Hamlen of the University of Texas at Dallas, call their program “Frankenstein”, after the fictional scientist who (at least, in film versions of the story) stitched together his monster out of body parts scavenged from graveyards and slaughterhouses.The…
Related Posts
Two Different Perspectives on Open Innovation – Libre versus Control
SA firm wins third place in global innovation competition
Applying the principles of sustainable development in the leather industry in Morocco: tannery case
Africa: AVU to Hold the First International Academic Conference On Open and Distance Learning
Celebrating 10 years of Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development
Innovation education programs: toward a conceptual framework
Categories: The Economist
Tags: computer viruses, sneakier
Copy that Namibia and Togo: former German colonies, revisited
Subscribe to our stories
Recent Posts
- Entrepreneurial Alertness, Innovation Modes, And Business Models in Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises December 30, 2021
- The Strategic Role of Design in Driving Digital Innovation June 10, 2021
- Correction to: Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control June 10, 2021
- BRIEF FOCUS: Optimal spacing for groundnuts in smallholder farming systems June 9, 2021
- COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa June 9, 2021
Categories
Archives
Popular Post-All time
- A review on biomass-based... 1k views
- Apply Now: $500,000 for Y... 798 views
- Can blockchain disrupt ge... 797 views
- Test Your Value Propositi... 749 views
- Prize-winning projects pr... 722 views