The coolest US agency is starting a ‘revolution’ to get rid of computer viruses
In the world of computer security, the bad guys are always 10 steps ahead of the good guys. But next month the mad scientists at the government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will bring together a group of the world’s best computer security experts to see if they can tip the scales in the good guys’ favor for once.
Dubbed the Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC), the event will determine if an autonomous program can hunt for security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit to attack a computer, create a fix that patches that vulnerability and distribute that patch — all without any human interference. “The idea here is to start a technology revolution,” said DARPA program manager for the CGC, Mike Walker.
What does that mean for you? Well, if all goes well, the CGC could mean a future where you don’t have to worry about viruses or hackers attacking your computer, smartphone or your other connected devices. At a national level, this technology could help prevent large-scale attacks against things like power plants, water supplies and air-traffic infrastructure.
