Product Placement And Video Games
Stealth-Based Wallpaper Stops Wi-Fi Signals Dead

Security Protection That Fights Back

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the and-this-is-how-the-computers-take-over... dept

Fri, Jun 18th 2004 1:34pm — Mike Masnick
While there's been plenty of talk about setting up security technology that would "fight back" when computers are attacked, most have stayed away from the idea, admitting that it could cause a lot more damage than it prevents. However, one company is now promoting that very idea and using a bunch of war metaphors to support their position on "information warfare." The idea is that they have a standard network security product, but if things get bad enough, it will somehow go on the offensive against the source of the problem. That "somehow" is a big question mark however. The company won't describe (at all) how they fight back, so there's no way to know what they're really doing. This could be a big problem - especially now that many attacks seem to come from compromised computers. What happens when these sorts of offensive systems then start attacking each other?
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  • identicon
    Josh Houghtelin, 18 Jun 2004 @ 6:06pm

    Styles of Fighting Back

    Seeing how actively fighting back would be sheer stupidity the angle they attack back might be more locally based. I havn't read anything but this blog so this is probably pissing into the wind but if the system were to determine it was being actively attacked it could learn what the flaw is, block the traffic being caused by it and track as much information about the attacker as it can. Anyway. Creating the kind of software that 'attacks back' and selling it would be such a high liability risk it'd be stupid to attempt imho.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    thecaptain, 21 Jun 2004 @ 5:19am

    No Subject Given

    In theory I'm ALL for slamming down a lousy script-kiddie who thinks its funny to trash my network....IN THEORY. I've rarely indulged and the few times I have, it was when I was ABSOLUTELY certain of the moron's identity...usually because this person WAS a moron using automated tools off of the net without any knowledge whatsoever.

    However, installing software that automatically retaliates against threats is problematic because even moderately skilled idiots out there can and DO cover their trail, which would lead to a whole new industry of DDOS tools which would require no zombies at all (machines previously infected with a trojan a script kiddie could manipulate for a DOS attack)...instead machines with this kind of software installed would be pre-installed zombies who could be spoofed to respond from an "attack" by any number of targets.

    Want to bring down Yahoo again? Spoof a few of these machines into thinking yahoo.com is hacking them...I'm sure its easily done.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 21 Jun 2004 @ 7:27am

      Re: No Subject Given

      Oh well, guess the idiots with compromised zombie machines will have to wake up and actually fix their machines.

      Let the war begin !

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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