RB2: SPONSOR PODCAST: Simplicity versus complexity in malware

Blunt tools can be useful too
13 Apr 2010 » Risky Business Extra

Risky Business 2 is sponsored exclusively by Symantec.

This week we're chatting with the company's vice president of security response, Vincent Weafer.

In this interview, Vincent and I discuss the relative complexity of modern malware. Gone are the days of 214-byte malware that could spread via a single UDP packet. They were good days, but now they're gone and we're dealing with some really diabolically complicated stuff.

But we're still seeing malware that's relatively simple considering its 2010. Gumblar is a good example of that -- it's simple and not particularly sophisticated, but it's been very effective.

So which poses a bigger threat? Simple stuff or complicated stuff?