In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox could not be caught. It caused enough mayhem that Cephalus used Laelaps, a dog that never failed to catch his quarry, to hunt it. The abilities of the fox and of the hound were contradictory, so Zeus turned them into stone and made them constellations.
Cybercrime is remarkably similar to this fox. Of course, individual criminals are caught and individual techniques are identified and solved by security products. But cybercrime as a whole seems to be impossible to catch: with the creative abilities of countless intelligent people, someone always comes up with a new way to exploit other people and their computers.
Those of us who do research in security are like Laelaps; if we pursue something long enough, we're bound to find it. Researchers have accomplished wonderful feats and have made great leaps in securing computers in homes, businesses, and in governments and military organizations. And yet we continue in our endless pursuit of the fox that cannot be caught. (I have ample job security. So did Sisyphus.)
Read the whole story...
No comments:
Post a Comment