Re: Govt working on defensive cyberweapon / Virus can trace, disable sources of cyber-attacks

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

Forwarded from: security curmudgeon <jericho (at) attrition.org>

: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120102002799.htm
:
: The Yomiuri Shimbun
: Jan. 3, 2012
:
: The Defense Ministry is in the process of developing a computer virus
: capable of tracking, identifying and disabling sources of cyber-attacks,
: The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
:
: The development of the virtual cyberweapon was launched in 2008. Since
: then, the weapon has been tested in a closed network environment.

This goes back to the 10+ year old debate around "strike back" 
technology. First, it is illegal to 'hack back', automated or not. 
Second, they do not have a foolproof way to automatically hop back 
through compromised computers to detect the origin of an attack. Third, 
there is no way anyone can invent such a technology based on today's 
systems.

They likely have this working in a small controlled lab with a fraction 
of the variables that would be encountered on the Internet. With 
real-world scenarios, this thing will fall on its face quickly and cause 
more problems than it solves.

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