A pact with the Devil

A pact with the Devil (PDF) is a very interesting paper even if you’re not a fan of computer security papers. It’s a paper for the whole family to read. Abstract:

We study malware propagation strategies which exploit not the incompetence or naivety of users, but instead their own greed, malice and short-sightedness. We demonstrate that interactive propagation strategies, for example bribery and black-mail of computer users, are effective mechanisms for malware to survive and en-trench, and present an example employing these techniques. We argue that in terms of propagation, there exists a continuum between legitimate applications and pure malware, rather than a quantised scale.

Skip to “2.2 The instantiation” if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing. My Highlight: 1. Temptation 2. Monitoring 3. Blackmail 4. Voluntary Propagation 5. Involuntary Propagation.