Application of Distributed Graphs for Facilitation of Scalable Botnet Detection and Response

Abstract

Botnets pose a significant threat to modern network environments, exploiting compromised devices to carry out malicious activities such as distributed denial-of-service attacks, spam campaigns, and data theft. Traditional centralized detection systems often struggle to handle the scale and complexity of botnet attacks, leading to delays in detection and response. In response to these challenges, this paper explores the application of distributed graphs for facilitating scalable botnet detection and response. Distributed graphs offer a promising approach for modelling and analyzing complex network structures, enabling efficient detection of botnet propagation patterns and anomalous behaviour across distributed computing environments. The paper presents an overview of distributed graph-based botnet detection systems, discussing their architecture, design considerations, and key concepts such as graph partitioning, vertex-centric computation, and message passing in distributed graph algorithms. Case studies illustrate the practical application of distributed graph-based botnet detection in diverse network environments, highlighting success stories, challenges encountered, and lessons learned from deploying distributed graph systems in production cybersecurity operations. Finally, the paper discusses challenges and open research questions in the field of distributed graph-based botnet detection, addressing issues such as graph partitioning strategies, fault tolerance, privacy-preserving techniques, and integration with other security tools. It proposes potential avenues for future research and development in scalable botnet detection using distributed graphs, emphasizing the importance of adaptive threat response, collaboration with industry partners, and continuous improvement in detection algorithms for enhancing cybersecurity resilience against botnet attacks.