Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Blogs
    • Security Watch

    Researchers Dig On New Anti-Worm System

    By
    Matthew Hines
    -
    February 16, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Earlier this week, researchers at Penn State University issued a report about a new software system they say can better defend against Internet worm viruses.

      And while much more attention is being given of late to spyware programs responsible for stealing real world assets from both businesses and consumers, the recent ripple caused by the Storm Worm attack proved the approach still has potency.

      Researchers at messaging security software maker Commtouch estimated that more than 7,000 distinct variants of Storm Worm appeared over the first few days of its mid-January outbreak, with more than 40,000 variants identified by the company as of Feb. 1.

      The Penn State group claims to improve on existing signature-based and pattern-based worm defense systems with a technology dubbed PWC (Proactive Worm Containment).

      Unlike the more traditional worm identification and blocking tools, the researchers claim their anti-virus system monitors a packet’s rate or frequency of connections — and the diversity of its connections to other networks — to speed response to potential outbreaks, according to a report filed on the University’s Penn State Live site.

      Just as most experts say signature-based anti-virus tools are insufficient to stop zero days threats and other more cutting-edge attacks on the network and desktops, organizations need a more proactive approach to faster moving worm threats to ward them off effectively, the PSU researchers said.

      “A lot of worms need to spread quickly in order to do the most damage, so our software looks for anomalies in the rate and diversity of connection requests going out of hosts,” Peng Liu, an associate professor at Penn State and lead researcher on the PWC system, is quoted as saying in the report.

      The defense mechanism involved controls the flow of packet outbreaks and more aggressively quarantines suspicious traffic, while employing intelligent false-positive prevention tools, according to the researchers. In that manner the PWC is also better suited to defend against denial-of-service attacks, the group claims.

      One shortcoming of the system admitted by its inventors is an ability to capture slow-spreading worms. However, your old school signature-based system should be able to catch those, said Liu and his group.

      Matthew Hines
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×