Part IV: Now think about this...
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Ask yourselves these questions:

-Can this really be done? The answer is yes. Yes yes yes. It has been done to a much smaller extent. Think of Melissa, think of the '88 worm. All of them were minor threats in comparison with this.

-Why is this then different from what we have seen before?
The major difference here is that this Trojan/virus will initiate communication. This means it can bypass firewalls, as firewalls are generally build to block incoming traffic, while allowing (some) outgoing traffic. This Trojan/virus will also have the ability to communicate with its controller (and even inter-virus communication is possible). The virus/Trojan is basically a streamlined, neatly packaged combination of all the bad things that are floating around the 'net today.

-how much "smarter" can this thing be made?
Much smarter. I am not the brightest person on earth, and I can come up with something like this. There are many of us out there, smarter, and brighter...and with the resources to create this monster.

-what would be the implications of this?
It could mean that the Internet would change, to such an extent that it will no longer be possible for companies to use it as a commercial tool. Back to the old days of vast open, purely academic networks.

-Is the IT security world ready to handle such an onslaught?
Not really. When this Trojan/virus reaches secondary infection phase, it can spread to millions of hosts within hours, and disconnection of hosts could lead to disaster. Remember that the rate at which the anti virus could spread is just as fast, or slower than that of the virus.

-what would happen if this were wired into an existing stable reputable product?
I rather not think of it...

-How do we know that there is not something like this out there?
We don't. Isn't it strange that our friends at cDc and L0pht haven't released something like this? Or have they? Hmmm?

-why have you written this?
I think that a monster the likes of this is about to be released. It will be only a question of time before a thing like this will happen. The only thing keeping it from happening is that the people with skills to write such an application is not willing to do so, since they, as experts, know the implications.

Taking it one step further (the really nasty angle)
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Now lets see...what would happen if the AI was to encrypt *.DOC *.CPP, *.C files and store the keys on the web servers (encrypted under a masterkey)? I can see it now - "buy your code & documents back at our special discount price"...

Last words & thanks
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And you thought all we do in South Africa is dodge the elephants... My sincere thanks goes out to Charl for his ideas and for writing part I.

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