The computer virus--no cures to be found

[Gary Stoneburner <gary.stoneburner@nist.gov>]

re:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5111442.html

"While much attention has been paid to the malicious online
attackers who exploit technology's vulnerabilities, little has been
documented about the origins of the virus. Its early iterations were not
created by malcontent teenagers or antisocial geeks but by campus
researchers, system administrators and a handful of old-school hackers
who thought that the ability to reproduce their programs automatically
was a neat trick."

"The result is a tale of technical genius, academic naivete,
bureaucratic arrogance and humans' penchant for tearing down institutions
simply for the sake of doing so."

" Cohen, however, said the scientific heavy lifting for today's
Internet viruses was done in the 1980s. Everything else, he said, is just
mechanics.  'Everything that we know now was known then,' he said.
'Everything we see now is just an engineering solution based on old
science."

Cheers,
Gary

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* Opinions expressed are not intended to reflect an official position
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* Gary Stoneburner
* Computer Security Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology
* 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8930, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930         
* Phone: 301-975-5394, FAX: 301-948-0279, Email: Stoneburner@nist.gov
* http://csrc.nist.gov/staff/stoneburner/gshome.html
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