Virtual Patching Containment Strategy of Internet Worm Modeling and Analysis

Abstract

Worms can spread quickly through the network and infect large number of vulnerable hosts in the initial stage causing great loss. The worms are tested and revised for many times aiming at avoiding being detected and eliminated by the security products, and the security software cant be updated immediately for the reason that it costs time to build the new patching before the patching is released. However, the virtual patching strategy can protect the vulnerable hosts from the attacks of the worms before the security products release the new real patching. A new propagation model of worms with virtual patching strategy is thus proposed in this paper for the first time. Through the analysis of the corresponding worm propagation model, its stability condition of worm-free equilibrium point is obtained. And through the numerical analysis, the effectiveness of the virtual patching strategy is shown. This model is more consistent with the actual situation of the worm propagation, and the virtual patching strategy will provide a new insight into the modeling of computer virus propagation.