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Ants Vs. Worms — Computer Security Mimics Nature

Posted by Soulskill on from the incompatible-with-raid dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Help Net Security: "In the never-ending battle to protect computer networks from intruders, security experts are deploying a new defense modeled after one of nature's hardiest creatures — the ant. Unlike traditional security devices, which are static, these 'digital ants' wander through computer networks looking for threats ... When a digital ant detects a threat, it doesn't take long for an army of ants to converge at that location, drawing the attention of human operators who step in to investigate. 'Our idea is to deploy 3,000 different types of digital ants, each looking for evidence of a threat,' [says Wake Forest Professor of Computer Science Errin Fulp.] 'As they move about the network, they leave digital trails modeled after the scent trails ants in nature use to guide other ants. Each time a digital ant identifies some evidence, it is programmed to leave behind a stronger scent. Stronger scent trails attract more ants, producing the swarm that marks a potential computer infection.'"

2 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Taking the analogy further... by Lesrahpem · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This reminds me of how one of the first worms was actually created. Xerox made it for going around their computers after hours and doing various checks and system maintainence. It got out of control and DoS'ed their network.

  2. The EU Serenity Project is using the same approach by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    MOD PARENT UP. It is apparently correct to be skeptical.

    The Serenity Project in the European Union is using the same approach. They call it "Ambient Intelligence(AmI)." The level of intelligence in the Serenity project may be indicated by the fact that, at present, 2009-09-26, 02:47 PDT, there is no space before "(AmI)". The Ambient Intelligence in the Serenity Project is very low, apparently.

    Someone who worked for SAP Labs France told me the SAP Labs France part of the Serenity Project is so poorly managed that smart people leave as soon as they can find other jobs.

    Apparently the only way of providing security that actually works is the Open BSD method: Audit the code. No number of "ants" can provide the security of audited code.

    Want more biological humor? Read about SAP's customer-focused ecosystem. It supposedly fosters "... an ideal environment for ongoing innovation and value creation..." Biological references are apparently the hot new thing in corporate-speak. Biological references concerning computers are very useful to people who have no technical knowledge and don't want any, because they are so vague the speaker can never be found wrong.