We are scientists! That means that we have to explore the causes of an event in order to produce solutions or alternatives. In a more concrete context, we need to know how a virus (including worms, Trojans, etc) infects, spreads, and protects itself from IDS or anti-virus programs.
I am not going into details of what it is taught in the virus lecture, but I can tell you it is one of the best classes I've ever taken. How can we expect to write secure and safe programs if we ignore the threats? (eg. stack overflows) We now have software engineers writing code ladies and gents! Do you know what that means? --> More vulnerable programs, spagetti code since they have no idea about algorithms, efficiency, etc. We need people that detect all these problems before they are packed and released! Why wait until someone figures a vulnerability out and then wait for the AV companies to act?
Knowing how to write a virus does not create criminals! Knowing how to write a virus creates better computer scientists; it teaches us how to attack a system AND also how to defend a system. It teaches us what not to do when developing software. In addition, it encourages us to build better anti-virus systems now that we know the techniques virus writers use.
What's next? Say that Doctors should not study viruses because they could put us at risk? Say that we can't take encryption lectures because we can break some sensitive info. and put national security at risk?
Get real people!
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We are scientists! That means that we have to explore the causes of an event in order to produce solutions or alternatives. In a more concrete context, we need to know how a virus (including worms, Trojans, etc) infects, spreads, and protects itself from IDS or anti-virus programs. I am not going into details of what it is taught in the virus lecture, but I can tell you it is one of the best classes I've ever taken. How can we expect to write secure and safe programs if we ignore the threats? (eg. stack overflows) We now have software engineers writing code ladies and gents! Do you know what that means? --> More vulnerable programs, spagetti code since they have no idea about algorithms, efficiency, etc. We need people that detect all these problems before they are packed and released! Why wait until someone figures a vulnerability out and then wait for the AV companies to act? Knowing how to write a virus does not create criminals! Knowing how to write a virus creates better computer scientists; it teaches us how to attack a system AND also how to defend a system. It teaches us what not to do when developing software. In addition, it encourages us to build better anti-virus systems now that we know the techniques virus writers use. What's next? Say that Doctors should not study viruses because they could put us at risk? Say that we can't take encryption lectures because we can break some sensitive info. and put national security at risk? Get real people!