Towards Early Warning Against Internet Worms Based on Critical-Sized Networks

In this paper, the authors build on a recent worm propagation stochastic model, in which random effects during worm spreading were modeled by means of a stochastic differential equation. Based on this model, they introduce the notion of the critical size of a network, which is the least size of a network that needs to be monitored, in order to correctly project the behavior of a worm in substantially larger networks. They provide a method for the theoretical estimation of the critical size of a network in respect to a worm with specific characteristics.