Nov 26, 2008—Leveraging a Malware Network to Identify Internet Threats

by DJ Goldsworthy, Information Security Manager

Following the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the United States government came to the sobering realization that drastic enhancements to our national security organizations, policies, and infrastructure were needed to address the evolving security threat landscape. One key change that was swiftly implemented by the government was the introduction of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In turn, one of the first priorities set forth by the DHS was to enhance and streamline the Terrorist Watch List so that federal, state, and local law enforcement officials as well as transportation authorities had full, real-time access to a list of probable threats.

This powerful technique of gathering intelligence about suspicious parties and then using that information to enhance security protocols has proven to be very effective at thwarting attacks. As fortune would have it, this methodology also translates very well to the digital world for the purposes of protecting private information on networks.

To incorporate a similar methodology into our security services, Gladiator has launched a Malware network (MalNet). The MalNet was primarily designed to look and feel like an unprotected network for the purpose of attracting hackers and then analyzing the activity and gathering information when they attack the network. We are then able to use the information gathered from the MalNet to answer some very important questions, such as “Who is currently attacking systems in the United States? And what methods of attack are they using?” As a result we are able to accumulate valuable information that we can then act upon regarding live Internet-based threats that are actively attacking networks.

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