Malware propagation model for cluster-based wireless sensor networks using epidemiological theory

Due to limited resources, wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes generally possess weak defense capabilities and are often the target of malware attacks. Attackers can capture or infect specific sensor nodes and propagate malware to other sensor nodes in WSNs through node communication. This can eventually infect an entire network system and even cause paralysis. Based on epidemiological theory, the present study proposes a malware propagation model suitable for cluster-based WSNs to analyze the propagation dynamic of malware. The model focuses on the data-transmission characteristics between different nodes in a cluster-based network and considers the actual application parameters of WSNs, such as node communication radius, node distributed density, and node death rate. In addition, an attack and defense game between malware and defending systems is also established, and the infection and recovery rates of malware propagation under the mixed strategy Nash equilibrium condition are given. In particular, the basic reproductive number, equilibrium point, and stability of the model are derived. These studies revealed that a basic reproductive number of less than 1 leads to eventual disappearance of malware, which provides significant insight into the design of defense strategies against malware threats. Numerical experiments were conducted to validate the theory proposed, and the influence of WSN parameters on malware propagation was examined.