Modeling Malware Diffusion in Wireless Networks with Nodes´ Heterogeneity and Mobility

Advances in wireless communications along with improvements in hardware have allowed smart phones to interact with each other easier in an open environment where virus can diffuse. While many studies have modeled the spread of malware, little has been done to take into account different types of devices that may concurrently exist in a mixed wireless network. In this paper, we have therefore developed an analytical model that incorporates diversity of entity as well as interactions between different classes of network items to investigate their impacts on the spread of virus propagation. Besides, our model also investigates the dynamics of viral dissemination in such networks that accounts for nodes´ mobility. The proposed model is able to depict the variations and dynamics of malware in a heterogeneous wireless ad hoc network. A formula to calculate the possible average number of newly infected devices in the considered system is also derived as well as the conditions for the stability of the network. On this number, we find that heterogeneity of nodes has impact on malware propagation; that is: malware has a wider extent. The relationship between mobility and malware dispersal is also investigated in our model. We also conduct numerical simulations to understand changes and the equilibrium of a network under malware propagation.