CASOS Working PAPER

"The Impact of Network Topology on the Spread of Anti-Virus Countermeasures"(PDF file)
Authors: Chen, L. C., Carley, K. M.
Abstract
Are there properties of networks that affect the spread of anti-virus countermeasures? Is countermeasure spreading more effective through on network than through another? In this paper, we investigate this problem by simulating the impact of network topology on the effectiveness of anti-virus countermeasures. We simulate the spread of countermeasures based on the idea that computer viruses and countermeasures spread through two separate complex networks - the virus-spreading network and the countermeasure-spreading network. This problem can be thought of having countermeasures act as competing species against computer viruses. We find that certain properties of networks determine if countermeasures can spread faster than computer viruses and influence the size of the virus infection.