Convinced that businesses will use nonmalicious worms to
cut down on
network security costs, a high-profile security researcher is pushing
ahead with a new framework for creating a "controlled worm" that can
be used for beneficial purposes.
Dave Aitel, vulnerability researcher at New York-based Immunity Inc.,
unveiled a research-level demo [1] of the "Nematode" framework at the
Hack In The Box confab in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, insisting that good
worms will become an important part of an organization's security
strategy.
"We're trying to change the way people think," Aitel said in an
interview with Ziff Davis Internet News. "We don't want people to
think this is impossible. It's entirely possible to create and use
beneficial worms and it's something businesses will be deploying in
the future."
. . .
Aitel, who did a six-year stint as a computer scientist at the NSA
(National Security Agency) before moving on to work as a code-breaker
for research outfit @Stake Inc., is adamant that nematodes can provide
the answer for lowering security costs.
He sees a world where "strictly controlled" nematodes are used by
ISPs, government organizations and large companies to show significant
cost savings.
. . .
Aitel acknowledged potential problems with the concept, noting that
worms are very hard to write and use large amounts of network
bandwidth. Because worms are harder to target and control, he noted
that IT administrators live in constant fear.
The concept includes the use of "Nematokens," servers that are
programmed to only respond to requests from networks cleared for
attacks and the NIL (Nematode Intermediate Language) that can be used
as a specialized and simplified "assembly for worms."
The NIL can be used to convert exploits into nematodes quickly and
easily. In some cases, Aitel believes that exploits can be written to
NIL directly to simplify the process even more.
This will be part of your security team's toolkit," Aitel argues,
noting that his company's work is "research-level proof of concept"
that details the theory and theology of using beneficial worms.
. . .
"Nematodes are a step beyond the next step. We're two stages away from
using this," he added. "The goal has always been to build the network
that protects itself automatically with automated technologies. We're
certainly not more than five years away from this sort of technology
becoming something that you can buy."
. . .
[1] http://www.immunityinc.com/downloads/nematodes.pdf
