Network audit

Running a high volume of VMs on one supercomputer - at a similar scale as a botnet - would allow cyber researchers to watch how botnets work and explore ways to stop them in their tracks. "We can get control at a level we never had before," said Minnich.

Previously, Minnich said, researchers had only been able to run up to 20,000 kernels concurrently (a "kernel" is the central component of most computer operating systems). The more kernels that can be run at once, he said, the more effective network audit can be in combating the global botnet problem. "Eventually, we would like to be able to emulate the computer network of a small nation, or even one as large as the United States, in order to 'virtualize' and monitor a cyber attack," he said.