Reboot and Recover: The Bacteriophage Initiative - Harnessing the Power of Biomimicry to Replicate Nature's Defenders and Revolutionize Cybersecurity Against Digital Threats

Overview

As cyber threats like malware and ransomware evolve, traditional antivirus solutions struggle to keep pace. Inspired by bacteriophages, viruses that selectively target bacteria, this project develops an AI-driven antivirus that mimics their precision and adaptability. The program identifies malware through unique digital signatures, similar to how bacteriophages recognize host markers. Once a threat is detected, it generates customized countermeasures to neutralize it, adapting continuously to new threats. This enables proactive defense, particularly against polymorphic malware, which alters its code to evade detection. A prototype was developed and tested against a simulated malware dataset. Results demonstrated adaptive threat detection and effective neutralization, proving the potential for a scalable cybersecurity solution. By merging biology and computer science, this research introduces a novel biomimetic approach to cybersecurity. The AI-driven antivirus system offers intelligent, evolving protection, addressing the urgent need for adaptive, efficient, and scalable digital defenses in an interconnected world.

Competition history

• ISEF 2025 Systems Software · Entry SOFT010

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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