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An Assessment of the Contemporary Threat Posed by Network Worm Malwar

Authors:
Luc Tidy
Khurram Shahzad
Muhammad Aminu Ahmad
Steve Woodhead

Keywords: Index Terms--- Cyber Defence; Malware; Network Worm; Zero-Day Worm; Simulation; Modelling

Abstract:
The cost of a zero-day network worm outbreak has been estimated to be up to US$2.6 billion. Additionally zero-day network worm outbreaks have been observed that spread at a significant pace across the global Internet, with an observed infection level of more than 90 percent of vulnerable hosts within 10 minutes. The threat posed by such fast-spreading malware is therefore significant, particularly given the fact that network operator / administrator intervention is not likely to take effect within the typical epidemiological timescale of such infections. This paper presents a classification of wormable vulnerabilities, demonstrating a method to determine if a vulnerability is wormable, and presents a survey into the cause of the reduction of worm outbreaks in recent years, as well as their viability in the future. It then goes on to explore recent wormable vulnerabilities, and points out the issues with operating system security in relation to techniques used by zero-day worms

Pages: 92 to 98

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2014

Publication date: October 12, 2014

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2163-9027

ISBN: 978-1-61208-368-1

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from October 12, 2014 to October 16, 2014