On Modeling Malware Propagation in Generalized Social Networks

Abstract

A hybrid malware on smart phones can be propagated by both end-to-end messaging services via personal social communications and short-range wireless communication services via spatial social interactions. Inspired from epidemiology, we propose a novel differential equation-based model to analyze the mixed behaviors of delocalized infection and ripple-based propagation for the hybrid malware in generalized social networks consisting of personal and spatial social relations. Validated by simulations, our model serves as the very first analytical model successfully approximating the complicated propagation behaviors of the hybrid malware.