(IX) Evolution of computer viruses

08/03/2004. The present edition in the series about the evolution of computer viruses looks at the future. Until very recently, this would have been no easy task, but recent developments, and in particular the latest epidemics, have made it quite clear the direction in which the creators of malicious code are heading.

The new threats

“Blended threats” and “Flash threats” are terms that are still not widely known but that perfectly describe the viruses that are sure to start appearing over the next few years.

In fact, blended threats are not new, they are becoming an increasingly common feature among the new viral fauna emerging every day. This can be seen with worms that download Trojans, like Mydoom, or even Trojans that download all types of malware onto the computers they infect.

These kinds of malicious code are likely to continue appearing, especially as they have proven to be a highly useful tool for the growing cyber-delinquent community. A blended threat doesn’t just rapidly infect multiple computers; it can also be used to steal confidential information such as bank or credit card details.

Flash threats

However, it is not just combined threats that will make the headlines over the next few years. They will probably be joined by others that won’t be limited to causing massive infections, but will also create the need for a general change of strategy for protecting against computer viruses: Flash threats

For some time now, the creators of computer viruses have been striving to make their creations spread both as rapidly and widely as possible. And unfortunately, on occasions, they have achieved this. So, by using techniques such as software vulnerability exploits, some malicious code have been able to infect hundreds of thousands of computers in a matter of hours. The global epidemics caused by Red Code, Blaster and Sasser are all prime examples of this kind of threat.

This kind of infection is the virus authors’ response to the improved security measures that many users are now implementing. Many email worms or macro viruses would now find it difficult to infect computers with antiviruses installed and updated. For this reason, virus creators now have to work against the clock, that is, prevent users form taking the necessary action to stop infections from new viruses.

Exploiting vulnerabilities has been a particularly successful strategy to this end. In fact, on some occasions, the vulnerability allows the malicious code to enter systems directly, without the need to use traditional propagation channels like email.

It is likely that these types of virus will continue to appear and that their creators will be continually honing their skills, leading to the appearance of viruses even faster than those mentioned above.

A new strategy for defending against the future onslaugh

When a new, unknown threat appears, traditional antivirus products are handicapped when it comes to offering an immediate solution. These products are reactive by design, and therefore need the antivirus to be updated in order to operate correctly. This means that they need human intervention, both by the antivirus developer and the user, so there is a time lag which is simply too long in the case of new fast spreading threats

The solution to this problem is to use systems that can anticipate the threat, that is, solutions that have the capacity to act intelligently and block threats before they can carry out any action. To this extent, Panda Software has been working for some years on TruPrevent Technologies, which can detect and neutralize unknown viruses and intruders. For more information about these innovations go to:

http://www.pandasoftware.com/about/press/viewNews.aspx?noticia=5212&ver=22&pagina=&numprod=&entorno=

http://www.pandasoftware.com/about/press/viewNews.aspx?noticia=5268&ver=22&pagina=&numprod=&entorno=

http://www.pandasoftware.com/about/press/viewNews.aspx?noticia=5300&ver=22&pagina=&numprod=&entorno=

More information about these and other IT threats is available at Panda Software’s Virus Encyclopedia.

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© Panda Software 2003

2004-08-04 10:48

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