Spooks tackle network security

Ex-KGB and CIA directors have joined forces to announce what they claim is the "next generation of network security". The tool is a dynamic IP cloaking system claiming "unbreakable intrusion protection and real-time attempt detection".

It may sound ambitious, but Invicta's Variable Cyber Co-ordinate technology was developed by Victor Sheymov, an ex-chief director and head code cracker of the KGB, and ex-CIA directors David Rolph and R. James Woolsey.

The Invicta system works by continuously cycling network objects through a change of IP addresses at speeds of more than one change per second. This effectively disguises the addresses of servers, client machines and other objects from prying eyes, theoretically making the lives of would-be hackers very difficult.

The company also claims that the system makes it nearly impossible to perform a denial of service attack on a network. Apparently, the tool will also feature intrusion detection and the "detection and disabling of instructive viruses".

However, Paul Rogers, network security analyst at MIS, said: "You would probably need twice as many IP addresses as systems connected to the internet because of the dynamic rotation involved."

Although Rogers said that the theory was interesting, he believes that implementation is only practical for large corporates. "I would also be sceptical of any tool that purported to make other layers of security unnecessary," he said.

But insurance firm American International Group has backed the technology by offering a 10 per cent discount to anyone using it. "We believe it reduces our risk of loss," the company said.

Woolsey, an ex-CIA director and board member at Invicta, said that the system approached security from a different angle. "Everybody else has been building fences around announced locations whereas the Invicta system keeps security on the move," he explained.