A Permanent Fix?

Viruses are likely to be with us for many years, but virus authors face some powerful disincentives in the future.

Virus authors hide behind a screen of anonymity and would be less likely to release viruses if they knew a virus could be easily traced back to its author. Furthermore, without the ability to repudiate the fact that they created and sent it, they could be prosecuted.

Such a capability is part of the promise of public key infrastructure (PKI) “digital signature” technology. If usage of PKI becomes widespread, it will become possible to demand proof of identity before accepting data on several levels, including IP network connections, e-mail connections, e-mail message bodies, or e-mail file attachments. With digitally signed messages and attachments, users know who really created and sent them. Certificates can quickly be revoked whenever theft or abuse has occurred. Most products can then be configured to reject items that are not digitally signed with a legitimate and verifiable certificate.