IBM Launches Services to Combat Worm and Virus Threats29 March 2006
effectively isolating wormsand viruses before they can propagate much further.
"Integrity of financial transactions, confidentiality within a virtualenterprise, privacy of customer data and availability of criticalinfrastructure all depend on strong security mechanisms," said PeggyKennelly, vice president of IBM's On Demand Innovation Services. "IBMResearch and Business Consulting Services work together to offerworld-class solutions to everyday security threats that make sense for yourbusiness, whether you have 100 employees or 100,000."
Due to the strain on systems administrators during attacks, the mostimportant property of any intrusion detection system is that it is freefrom the high rate of false alarms produced by many other sensors. TheBilly Goat system minimizes false alarms through the use of a novelarchitecture that combines an extensive view of the network, spoofedservice interaction with potential attackers, and a clear focus ondetecting automated attacks.
"Billy Goat uses a unique approach to detect malicious software byresponding to requests sent to unused IP addresses, presenting what from aworm's-eye view looks like a network full of machines and services," saysDr. James Riordan, the lead designer of the system at IBM's Zurich ResearchLab. "In other words, Billy Goat creates a virtual environment for theworms. Such virtualization, by providing feigned services as well asrecording connection attempts, helps Billy Goat trick worms into revealingtheir identity. This method allows the system to reliably and quicklyidentify worm-infected machines in a network."
One of the greatest threats to security has come from automatic,self-propagating attacks such as viruses and worms. These attacks scannetworked servers at random until they are able to place a harmful programon a server using a maliciously crafted request. The program uses thenow-infected server as a base from which to attack other servers. Thedirect result is rapid exponential growth in the number of attacks leadingto load-induced network failure.
While the presence of these attacks is by no means new, the damage thatthey are able to inflict and the speed with which they are able topropagate have grown. Effective implementation of intrusion detectionsystems and techniques, such as Billy Goat, allows security problems to beidentified before major damage occurs.
The technology is being made available through IBM's On Demand InnovationServices (ODIS), the partnership between IBM Research and BusinessConsulting Services (BCS), to help clients tap into the deep technicalexpertise of IBM Research along with the business insight of IBM'sconsultants. The ODIS team offers security and privacy services related tobiometrics, digital rights management, identity management, intrusionprevention, privacy protection and secure systems.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years ofleadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from acrossIBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services,solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to takefull advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information aboutIBM, visit www.ibm.com
For additional information contact:
Steven TomascoIBM Media Relations914-945-1655stomasc@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
Source: marketwire
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