Thursday, August 14, 2008
Using sample virus code, computer hackers at the Defcon conference were able to bypass five commercial antivirus programs with modified versions of the malware.
Betanews has noted that the Race to Zero contest is designed to test the strength of signature-based antivirus products and challenged hackers to modify existing viruses to bypass security filters.
"Signature-based antivirus is the original technique that blocks programs that match known malicious signatures, based on pattern matching," the website explained.
One team was able to compete the entire task in under two hours, highlighting wide-ranging vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word and Vista in the process, as well as exploits in older versions of Windows 2000.
The group noted that many antivirus product developers are now moving away from signature-based detection and into more behavioral virus analysis.
According to the organizers, another principal aim of the activity is to highlight that some antivirus products are more effective than others.
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