The Nostradamus Antivirus?

condom-ethernetI always say that there is no such thing as a truly secure network or computer. Sooner or later, hackers or viruses or malware will attack and find the weak spot to successfully infiltrate your systems.

Well there may finally be some light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Israelis know about security. Now a new tech start-up called CYACTIVE is launching what they call “future proof security” by creating “guards that recognize future malware before it has ever seen the light of day.”

According to Cyactive, “98% of malware comprise variants of earlier versions, modified to evade security measures; the remaining 2% use recycled modules, exploits and techniques; even 0-day malware reuse components of previous malware. If writing new malware from scratch is extremely difficult, re-inventing a whole attack chain is practically impossible – and as far as documented attacks are concerned, this has never been done.”

This isn’t the first time antivirus software has tried to take a predictive approach. BITDEFENDER and KAPERSKY implement the science of heuristics, a technology of virus detection, which cannot be detected by anti-virus databases. It allows detecting objects, which are suspected of being infected by unknown or new modification of known viruses. Files which are found by heuristics analyzer are considered to be probably infected.

CyActive’s solution is predict, prepare, and protect. Let’s take a look.

“CyActive’s predictive engine automatically forecasts how hackers will evolve today’s malware into tomorrow’s advanced threats, by applying bio-inspired algorithms and a deep understanding of hackers’ behavior, considerations and constraints.”

Bio-inspired algorithms? That’s getting into Minority Report “Pre-Crime” type scenarios.

“PREPARE: Hundreds of thousands of future malware derivatives are predicted in mere hours, and then used to generate and train a small amount of powerful future-proof detectors which proactively anticipate and prevent attacks on network and endpoint devices. The smart detectors know what future malware looks like even before it has been created or used. Once an attempted attack is detected it is used as basis for further predictive intelligence.

Basically, CyActive is saying their technology will predict something, not only before it ever happens, but before it was ever created.

“PROTECT: Predicting and preventing attacks not only avoid needless financial, operational and other disasters; they redefine the ecosystem by placing the defender ahead of the attacker. Moreover, the investment imbalance is reversed, as the unfair advantage is now placed in the hands of the defender.”

This is the goal of any antivirus software, however I am not convinced. My main concern is that people are already lax with their current antivirus / malware software that actually does try to do something to protect the system it is installed on. Until this new technology is put through some serious tests to prove it does what it says, I am going to be doubtful. Don’t get me wrong, I sincerely hope this will be revolutionary groundbreaking antivirus technology that will turn the tables on viruses, however in the real world, I would need to see CyACtive’s technology in action looking like Neo in the Matrix before I will be convinced of effectiveness.

What to YOU think?

 

Jacques Redmond

About Jacques Redmond

I'm an I.T. Security Professional, Technology Analyst, Consultant, & Tech Writer Protecting You From Viruses, Malware, Trojans, Hackers, and other Cyber Threats. I enjoy taking complicated subjects, and putting them in a way that's easy for everyone to understand. My site INFORMATIONWARFARE.US gives free advice to combat threats to your system.