Computer Security Art and Science, 2nd Edition

Chapter 23

Malware

TITUS ANDRONICUS: Ah! wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands?To bid Aeneas tell the tale twice o’er, How Troy was burnt and he made miserable?

— The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus, III, ii, 26–28.

Trojan horses, computer viruses, and spyware are effective tools with which to attack computer systems. They assume an authorized user’s identity. Thus, access control methods based upon identity or role are ineffective. This chapter presents several types of malicious logic, and discusses defenses.

23.1 Introduction

Odysseus, of Trojan War fame, found the most effective way to breach a hitherto-impregnable fortress was to have people inside bring him in without knowing they were doing so [919, 1936]. The same approach works for ...