Sophos Anti-Virus, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, has branded a new virus-writing competition organised by firewall start-up GateKeeper irresponsible, and has called for it to be cancelled.
GateKeeper has offered a $1 000 reward to the first person who succeeds in getting a virus past the company's gateway, therefore infecting its internal network. GateKeeper has offered a further $9 900 for information on how the virus was created. Earlier this year GateKeeper announced that its system had been breached by a virus written in response to an earlier competition.
"The competition is ill-advised and increases the problem posed by viruses rather than reducing it," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos Anti-Virus. "There is a real danger that people will be encouraged to write new viruses in an attempt to win the prize. Anything which fuels the circulation of new viruses is a step in the wrong direction."
The anti-virus community as a whole has a long history of co-operation and communication, which helps to ensure that customers are protected by minimising the impact of viruses. It is therefore hoped that newcomers to the industry will be willing to collaborate with other vendors, as opposed to pursuing careless activities such as this competition.
"Competitions like the one promoted by GateKeeper are simply not an ethical or reliable means of testing software," added Cluley. "Independent testing bodies such as the ICSA, West Coast Labs and Virus Bulletin offer a far more responsible and effective way of assessing the competence of an anti-virus solution, and we would strongly encourage GateKeeper to consider this option."
Graham Cluley is available for further comment on +44 (0) 1235 544114
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