Is anti-virus software dead?
According to one cybersecurity insider, it's dead as a business model. Brian Dye, a Symantec senior vice president told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that anti-virus software was "dead" because cybersecurity programs can no longer keep most hackers out of networks and computers. Instead, cybersecurity firms must now minimize the damage intruders cause.
During an interview Monday on "Squawk on the Street," Aneesh Chopra, the former White House chief technology officer, said that's a natural move toward what he called "moving target defense" strategies.
Chopra, who served as the country's first CTO from 2009 to 2012, said anti-virus programs have grown too cumbersome to deal with today's threats. Anti-virus programs are made up of millions of lines of code, Chopra said. Cyberattacks, on the other hand, are only a few hundred lines, he said.
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"You have an environment when you can't just build a bigger and bigger moat and feel protected," said Chopra, the author of "Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government."
Still, Chopra had some basic advice for web users as anti-virus programs become less integral. Don't click on suspicious links, and keep your passwords fresh.
—By CNBC's Jeff Morganteen.