Understanding mutable internet pathogens, or how i learned to stop worrying and love parasitic behavior

Authors:
Kevin R. B. Butler;Patrick D. McDaniel
Affiliations:
Systems and Internet Infrastructure Security Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA;Systems and Internet Infrastructure Security Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Venue:
ICISS'05 Proceedings of the First international conference on Information Systems Security
Year:
2005

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Abstract

Worms are becoming increasingly hostile. The exponential growth of infection rates allows small outbreaks to have worldwide consequences within minutes. Moreover, the collateral damage caused by infections can cripple the entire Internet. While harmful, such behaviors have historically been short-lived. We assert the future holds much more caustic malware. Attacks based on mutation and covert propagation are likely to be ultimately more damaging and long lasting. This assertion is supported by observations of natural systems, where similarly behaving parasites represent by far the most successful class of living creatures. This talk considers a parasite for the Internet, providing biological metaphors for its behavior and demonstrating the structure of pathogens. Through simulation, we show that even with low infection rates, a mutating pathogen will eventually infect an entire community. We posit the inevitability of such parasites and consider ways that they can be mitigated.