The History of Computer Viruses (Part 3)

Get ready to equip yourself with the essential knowledge of computer security on this last instalment of the three-part series.

Future roadmap of computer security

Given the level of sophistication of the Storm Worm, it is safe to assume that the viruses of tomorrow will be more potent. Conventional methods that I have detailed earlier may not be sufficient to handle the threats of tomorrow.

It is like a constant evolutionary battle between predator and prey. Hackers will always find ways and means to evade the software companies. Software companies will always devise newer tactics to detect and eliminate these malware.

With the increase penetration of technology in most aspects of our lives today, the importance of information security is getting more serious. As you can see, I have used the word “information” in place of computer. That is the era of the future in computing. Computers are becoming omnipresent as we speak.

The concept of computers has also changed several times in the course of history from Charles Babbage analytical engine that occupied a train, to the room-sized mainframe of the US-made ENIAC and finally to the desktop computer today. The next transition will be towards the ever powerful wireless handhelds (eg handphones and PDAs) and Ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs).

In the future, all our (personal) information will be stored on these machines. The financial and unaccountable costs associated to compromised information will be devastating. The importance of security can never be fully underscored enough. Thus steps are currently being taken now to ensure that we have a secure computing future.

Due to the increasing amount of viruses targeting the Windows platform today, many corporate IT departments are beginning to turn to the alternative platforms such as Linux and Apple to seek a safe refuge.

These two platforms had their roots in the UNIX system. The UNIX system has traditionally been viewed as more secure than the Windows environment due to their stringent policy of multi-user multi-privilege architecture. This is opposed to the DOS days (Windows roots) where the OS would automatically login as a single user with root (administrator) privileges.

With this level of competition, Microsoft is not resting on its laurels. It has continuously beefed up the security of its products. It has also introduced the multi-user NT line of OSes way back in 1993 in response to this competition.

With the proliferation of enforced multi-user separation, we will safe from viruses, or will we? No, we will never be. There are always countermeasures.

The era of zero-day attacks has just begun. A virus released in the same day after someone discovers a flaw, leaving system administrators and home users no time to patch their machines. The future looks bleak does it? The answer is no again. Software companies are writing increasingly sophisticated heuristics programs. These programs help to detect potential threats even before they surface. This is the only viable defence available so far to counter zero-day attacks.

What about seeking refuge in alternative software? Remember, the reason why this suggestion came out was because these platforms were largely ignored by hackers. Not necessarily because they are inherently secure in the first place. With their increasing popularity, it may longer be safe to rely solely on such software for security purposes.

Rule 9 may not be safe anymore. Website addresses are actually reference codes to IP addresses. For example, when you go to http://www.nanyangjc.org , it is actually referring to the IP address 210.193.3.125. The collection of such pairs is actually stored on only less those 50 DNS servers worldwide. By hacking into one of them and changing the pair assignment, hackers in theory can wipe a legitimate page out of existence and replace it with their own. So far, some have been brought down by highly-coordinated DoS attacks, but none has yet been hacked into.

Remember the transition I mentioned earlier about handphones ? Right now, they are quite immune as their processing power and software has yet to reach the level of desktop computers. But this is bound to change with the ever growing number of features available on them. Modern phones today can even run advanced operating systems such as Symbian and Windows Mobile. The more powerful the features are, the greater the propensity for hackers to target them.

What about wireless keyboards and mice? The long neglected area of security. Hackers armed with a portable RF receiver nearby can easily receive your keystrokes on your wireless keyboard without even knowing it. There goes your passwords and bank account numbers, Moral: Use a conventional wired keyboard or one with built-in encryption.

The mushrooming of Wifi networks is also a concern. Many people are using these networks to surf the net. And large numbers of them are doing so without applying any security settings. Moochers can easily login and surf the Internet for free. More technical moochers may even snoop data from the unencrypted airwaves.

Even encryption may not be secure now. The WEP and WPA encryption has been successfully cracked and tools easily available on the net. The only secure encryption system remaining on the WiFi platform is WPA2. But as with all other encryption standards, WPA2 will eventually be broken as computer processors improve.

There are many other possible security breaches in the technology realm, too much for me to state here. The future indeed looks uncertain. What is certain however, as our lives depend more on technology, the need for information security will grow ever stronger. The battle between the good and the bad guys have not reached its climax yet.

By Yeo Kheng Meng