The age old "super virus" threat. a not to distant reality?
Dear all
Everyone will probably have heard of the age old "super virus" problem where a virus is written so that it mutates so fast that it cannot be detected by anti-virus scanners.
However one was never created.
i would like to start a discussion as to whether the following program could/is likely to be used to produce this virus:
the program i am referring to is called Tierra, it quite simply creates a load of "artificial life forms" that then compete with each other for cpu time.
running this program shows natural selection as the bots evolve as they compete with each other.
this is run in a virtual section of RAM cornered off by the program.
the point i am making is that natural selection will always prevail, just because these bots are designed to run in a virtual box does not mean that if they were set loose they would cease to function.
how long would it be before one evolved the ability to attach itself silently to an email or a file?
and for that matter how long before some idiot removes the safety protocols that keep the bot in the RAM and the RAM alone?
the source code is released so do we think this is a possibility?
--yoma
oh by the way i fully suggest that you run it.Code:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierra_(computer_simulation)
in most simulations some of the bots take on a viral role, its quite interesting!
home page is:
Tierra home page
and i am aware that mutating computer viruses have been around for donkeys years however none of these can mutate very much or very quickly.
these bots can mutate dramatically and very quickly
