14 DAY TRIAL // Attempting to destroy the Internet using endlessly self-replicating software, security researchers from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, have created an Android application that can reproduce itself across a network.
At this stage, the application is capable of self-compilation, mutation, and viral spreading, requiring no human interaction to evolve, and no root permissions on the device it runs on.
The app currently works on Android devices, but the researchers claim that in the near future, the app will also be able to work across multiple platforms and operating systems.
An alternative method of communication
The purpose of such research is to create applications capable of carrying data in networks that are subject to natural or human-made disasters, where critical infrastructure could lead to the loss of crucial information.
Because the application would be able to recompile its structure and spread to nearby devices, data labeled as critical (medical, military, etc.) would manage to reach its destination, hiding in different forms, and spreading via mobile networks and handheld devices.
The app can currently resolve Android compilation dependency issues on its own, including a vast collection of Android libraries it can use in its internal transformation process.
Besides spreading like a virus, the app can completely change its appearance as well. The app can start as a calculator at one point, and reach its destination a few network hops later as a Web browser.
Usable for good and evil
Of course, if you replace the word "data" with "malware," the whole research now seems like a terrible idea.
Regardless of how others decide to use the findings of this study, the research carried out by Paul Brussee and Johan Pouwelse explores an innovative corner of the app development field.
The full "Autonomous smartphone apps: self-compilation, mutation, and viral spreading" is a fascinating read, and the app's code was also open sourced on GitHub.
