Controlled Chaos [Internet Security]
Antonio Nucci, Steve Bannerman · IEEE Spectrum · 2007
We need to exploit the science of order and disorder to protect networks against coming generations of superworms. Internet security professionals are, by occupational temperament, a pretty nervous bunch. But lately they've had more reason than ever to be jumpy. Early this year, a new kind of worm, known as Storm, began to sweep through the Internet. It hasn't received much attention in the mainstream press, but it has given security professionals more than a few sleepless nights. Storm is far more sophisticated than previous worms, because it uses peer-to-peer technologies and other novel techniques to evade detection and to spread. The popular press hasn't paid much attention to Storm, because it has yet to wreak devastating havoc on businesses, as some previous worms have. But we shouldn't be fooled by that relative quiet: Storm's designers appear to be biding their time, building an attack network far more disruptive than any before seen.