From an article by Caezar of rootkit.com, lysine deficiency is named after the method implemented in Jurassic Park to "deactivate" the dinosaurs if they escaped.
In Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs had been genetically engineered such that they couldn't produce their own lysine and would therefore shortly die without a supplement. Spoiler: <rot-13>vg gheaf bhg gung gurl pbhyq trg vg sebz rngvat puvpxraf naq fbln ornaf</rot-13>.
In white hat hacking, Caezar suggests that potentially harmful virii and worms should be given a similar deficiency so they will turn themselves off if they "escape from the park". He introduces two types of digital lysine:
- Anti-Lysine
- A message that can be broadcast to infected systems that the worm will intercept and interpret as a message to shut down and uninstall.
- Deficiency
- A message that must be sent to infected systems at regular intervals for the worm to continue operation.
He recommends using a chain-reaction for distributing both types of lysine but cautions that a break in an anti-lysine chain can prevent innoculation. In general, it is much safer to use a deficiency than anti-lysine.
The article was written because the Code Red Worm contains a lysine deficiency for unknown reasons.