DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF PRIOR EXPERIENCE ON THE MALWARE RESOLUTION PROCESS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kim, Seung Hyun; Kim, Byung Cho
• 署名单位: Yonsei University; National University of Singapore; Korea University
• 刊物名称: MIS QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0276-7783
• DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2014/38.3.02
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 655-678
• 关键词: software security; patch release; empirical-analysis; ECONOMIC-ANALYSIS; vulnerabilities; IMPACT; systems; MARKET; announcements; exploration

摘要

Despite growing interest in the economic and policy aspects of information security, little academic research has used field data to examine the development process of a security countermeasure provider. In this paper, we empirically examine the learning process a security software developer undergoes in resolving a malware problem. Using the data collected from a leading antivirus software company in Asia, we study the differential effects of experience on the malware resolution process. Our findings reveal that general knowledge from cross-family experience has greater impact than specific knowledge from within-family experience on performance in the malware resolution process. We also examine the factors that drive the differential effects of prior experience. Interestingly, our data show that cross-family experience is more effective than within-family experience in malware resolution when malware targets the general public than when a specific victim is targeted. Similar results-for example, the higher (lower) effect of cross-family (within-family) experience-were observed in the presence of information sharing among software vendors or during a disruption caused by a catastrophe. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the specific expertise required for security countermeasure providers to be able to respond under varying conditions to fast-evolving malware.