Remember when computer viruses were harmless little annoyances programmed as pranks by bored teenagers? Those were the days.In today’s hyper-connected world however, things have taken a frightening turn. The discovery of Stuxnet single-handedly reformatted our assumptions about the destructive limits of computer viruses. Several countries, including the United States, are amassing cyber armies to defend against future infection and intrusion. And all the while, powerful algorithms continue to discover malicious code lurking in the digital ether at a rate more often than the average person blinks.Finnish security expert Mikko Hyponnen knows well the dangerous potential of the computer virus. That’s why he’s tearing them open in front of a live audience at TED — to show how they’re created, where they’re coming from and how we can track down the nefarious individuals who use them to steal millions.When it comes to viruses, Mikko is as much a hunter as he is a taxidermist. He kicks off his talk by running a bunch of virus programs, from the harmless-but-annoying “Centipede” to Brain, the very first PC virus discovered in 1986. The latter, as it turns out, had names and an address imprinted in the code. Sure enough, the virus’ creators were still there when Mikko paid them a visit earlier this year.
Another, more malicious virus was found to have originated in Russia via the discovery of a Russian license plate number in the virus’ decrypted code. The perp might have gotten away with it, had he not blogged about a car accident and included a picture of his car, the license plate number clearly visible.These stories are the exception, however. Of all the virus-writing cyber thieves in history, Mikko explains, very few of them have ever been caught.Mikko’s ideas for correcting this, while virtuous, are perhaps a little extreme. In an interview last year, he went as far as to say that all internet users should be denied admin privileges — not exactly the smartest approach to maintaining a free and open internet that encourages innovation. But personal beliefs aside, the work done by specialists like Mikko will be invaluable in the future protection of our most precious data and infrastructures.Connections:
photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED
Advertisement

