Fast-spreading computer viruses and worms continue to plague
information networks – and the problem is getting worse.
In an article published in the 23 April issue of the journal Science,
HP Labs researcher Matt Williamson and others look at strategies
that could reduce the damage caused by these cyber attacks.
Williamson and his co-authors examine the structure of different
types of computer network that are vulnerable to attack and analyze
their characteristics. Their research suggests that the most effective
strategy to combat worm and virus attacks is a technique called
Throttling, which limits the spread of a virus or worm by radically
slowing the speed at which they can make new network connections.
In their article, Technical Networks and the Spread of Computer
authors argue that a throttling mechanism would slow the spread
of computer infections while leaving normal network traffic unaffected.
Read the full article
Related HP Labs technical reports
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Implementing and testing a virus throttle
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Throttling viruses: Restricting propagation to defeat malicious mobile code
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