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Chapter 11 What Should We Do?. Predictions. “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” --- Yogi Berra Author provides 2 predictions that reader can choose from: “ Vicious cyberattacks will cause the Internet to melt down”
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Predictions • “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” --- Yogi Berra • Author provides 2 predictions that reader can choose from: • “Vicious cyberattacks will cause the Internet to melt down” • “All malware-related problems will disappear within a year's time”
Solution to Malware? • No magic solution • “And, if there was, be assured that a bread-crumb trail of patents would cover every part of it” • Recall that human intervention during attacks not always possible • Malware detection is undecidable • Must rely on heuristics (in broad sense) • We discussed lots of technical measures
Not-So-Technical Ideas • Plan B --- disaster recovery plan • Education --- social engineering, security-aware developers, … • Pressure on Vendors --- demand security instead of “frilly features” • Minimalism --- minimize services and features (fewer attack vectors) • Special purpose devices?
Not-So-Technical Ideas • Software Updating --- need efficient and effective ways to update • Layers of Defense --- variety of defenses, each based on different assumptions • Avoiding Monoculture --- different software, different machines, physical separation, ASLR, etc.
The Last Word(s) “Will malware ever go away? Even if all technical vulnerabilities are fixed, there will still be human vulnerabilities. But the point is academic, because human nature virtually guarantees the large-scale availability of technical vulnerabilities for the foreseeable future. Suffice it to say that the computer security industry will continue to flourish, and security researchers will be employed for some time to come.”