One service, known as virus throttling, will limit the speed at which viruses and worms can spread by reducing the number of connections an infected computer can have to the Internet. A second service that HP intends to offer mimics medical vaccinations by placing devices within a network that will continually attack a company's computers with the digital equivalent of dead germs.
The plans are part of HP's strategy for allowing customers to quickly deal with changes in information technology, including security and Internet threats, said Joe Pato, distinguished technologist for HP Labs' Trusted Systems Lab.
"We want to construct systems that are responsive to change," he said. Pato will describe the two services in a keynote presentation on Thursday at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.
The two techniques are the latest research developments that draw their foundations from treating digital systems like biological ones. Notably, IBM has researched ways to make computers and networks self-healing and has researched better ways of responding to digital attacks under its Digital Immune System project.
While IBM has dubbed its overall strategy "On Demand Computing," HP is referring to its vision of the corporate information infrastructure as the "Adaptive Enterprise."
The two services that HP plans to outline at the RSA Conference could help companies respond to fast-spreading threats and maintain their defences against everyday attacks.
Virus throttling slows down the spread of worms and viruses by placing a limit on the number of connections a PC can make to the Internet.
Talkback
Why is HP trying to treat the symptoms. What really needs to be fixed is the patient. Until such time (if ever) that Microsoft can produce a decently secure OS, attempts like this one of HP's is like tilting at windmills.
Isn't it much cheaper in the long run (and without compromising network performance) to switch to a more secure OS? Don't treat the symptoms, kill the disease!