September 7, 2007
It's almost as certain as death and taxes - the 'it' being the constant recycling of the age old conspiracy theory surrounding antivirus vendors. The (very) tired story usually takes one of two themes: that antivirus vendors are the ones creating the viruses; or that antivirus vendors have no real motive to do a good job because they are profiting from the existence of these viruses.
Either of these arguments is as ludicrous as insinuating that your family doctor tries to make you sick or your pharmacist tweaks your prescriptions to make sure you don't get well. Yet, just like e-mail hoaxes, no matter how ludicrous the argument is, there's always someone willing to perpetuate it. And I think I know why.
'Script Kiddies'
The term 'script kiddies' was originally used to discredit virus writers, but instead it has helped define how many folks perceive malware altogether. The term may just subconsciously give the impression that it (malware) is not really that bad. After all, if it's the work of kiddies, how bad can it really be and why haven't the antivirus vendors offered up a silver bullet?
So let's just clear one thing up - today's malware is not the work of script kiddies. It's the work of professional, criminal developers who are coding for profit. So much so that even the Financial Mirror recently reported on the trend (see: "All you need is $1,200 to become a cyber-crook").
David Raikow of CMP Channel offers excellent insight into this business side of today's malware. In his article "Like eBay For Malware: Computer Crime Is Slicker Than You Think", Raikow notes, "Online crime and malware development has become a full-blown and extremely profitable commercial enterprise". The article describes a market that mimics a legitimate commercial enterprise market, in which the malicious tools being sold even offer "customer service, technical support, and update subscriptions". Such wide availability and ease of use, coupled with competitive pricing, allows even the most technologically impaired criminal to create and control botnets or engage in other forms of cybercrime. And in many cases, it's your credit card info, your bank account credentials, and your personal identity that are at risk.
At the core of the efforts to protect against all of this are a few dozen antivirus companies, staffed with dedicated men and women who everyday try to anticipate what the criminals will do next and keep you safe. These are the same antivirus vendors and the same men and women that some folks accuse of making "sure we’re vulnerable so that they can sweep in and protect us from harm".
Sigh. Death, taxes, and baloney. Please remember, today's malware authors really aren't script kiddies. Don't condem the people that protect you from them. They've dedicated their lives to protecting yours.
