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Thursday, June 10, 2010

#NSF funds computer virus immunization effort

The third most unsolvable problem in IT today--behind cyber insecurity and Internet highjacking--is infections by viruses, worms and other malware. Look for immunization technologies bend on eradicating infectious disease among computers and mobile devices from this National Science Foundation funded effort. R.C.J.


The wide proliferation of wireless mobile computing devices like smartphones has increased global networks vulnerability to cyber security violations, according to Florida State University (FSU), which is pursuing an effort to immunize applications with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). By differentiating specific instances of application programs with unique executables, the researchers aim to remove the most common lever used by viruses and other malware, effectively immunizing them against spreading infections. Program differentiation is not a new idea, but traditional approaches are problematic, according to Whalley, who is collaborating on the project with fellow FSU professor Gary Tyson. Other attempts at program differentiation have resulted in performance penalties and behavior changes that produce maintenance nightmares, but the FSU professors believe they have the answer.
Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-9aLL