Hash-based systems and methods for detecting, preventing, and tracing network worms and viruses

A system for hampering transmission of a potentially malicious packet, comprising:

• means for receiving a packet;
• means for generating one or more hash values from the packet;
• means for comparing the generated one or more hash values to hash values corresponding to prior packets;
• means for determining that the packet is a potentially malicious packet when the generated one or more hash values match one or more of the hash values corresponding to at least one of the prior packets and the at least one of the prior packets was received within a predetermined amount of time of the packet;
• and
• means for hampering transmission of the packet when the packet is determined to be a potentially malicious packet.

A system for detecting transmission of potentially malicious packets, comprising:

• a plurality of input ports configured to receive a plurality of packets;
• a plurality of output ports configured to transmit the packets;
• a hash processor configured to:
• observe each of the packets received at the input ports,
• generate hash values corresponding to the packets,
• compare the generated hash values to hash values corresponding to previous packets, and
• determine that one of the packets is a potentially malicious packet when one or more of the generated hash values corresponding to the one packet matches one or more of the hash values corresponding to one of the previous packets and the one previous packet was received within a predetermined amount of time of the one packet.