Intelligent Malware propagation: an approach based on data previously known by the Malware

Abstract

In this article, the spread of malware transmitted via email will be studied, taking into account the prior information the attacker and its malware may have about the network in general and the individual devices that form it. Based on this idea, five malware propagation models are presented depending on the information known by the attacker or malware beforehand. This idea provides a new and more realistic approach to simulating the spread of malware. Simulations have been carried out on meshes and a network of groups. Next, it has been determined the positive and negative aspects of each model considering several characteristics. Among the results obtained, it is generally found that the more information the attacker has, the more dangerous the attack becomes.