Mathematical model on the transmission of worms in wireless sensor network

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have received extensive attention due to their great potential in civil and military applications. The sensor nodes have limited power and radio communication capabilities. As sensor nodes are resource constrained, they generally have weak defense capabilities and are attractive targets for software attacks. Cyber attack by worm presents one of the most dangerous threats to the security and integrity of the computer and WSN. In this paper, we study the attacking behavior of possible worms in WSN. Using compartmental epidemic model, we propose susceptible - exposed - infectious - recovered susceptible with a vaccination compartment (SEIRS-V) to describe the dynamics of worm propagation with respect to time in WSN. The proposed model captures both the spatial and temporal dynamics of worms spread process. Reproduction number, equilibria, and their stability are also found. If reproduction number is less than one, the infected fraction of the sensor nodes disappears and if the reproduction number is greater than one, the infected fraction persists and the feasible region is asymptotically stable region for the endemic equilibrium state. Numerical methods are employed to solve and simulate the systems of equations developed and also to validate our model. A critical analysis of vaccination class with respect to susceptible class and infectious class has been made for a positive impact of increasing security measures on worm propagation in WSN. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.