Cost Optimization in SIS Model of Worm Infection

Recently, there has been a constant barrage of worms over the Internet. Besides threatening network security, these worms create an enormous economic burden in terms of loss of productivity not only for the victim hosts, but also for other hosts, as these worms create unnecessary network traffic. Further, measures taken to filter these worms at the router level incur additional network delays because of the extra burden placed on the routers. To develop appropriate tools for thwarting the quick spread of worms, researchers are trying to understand the behavior of worm propagation with the aid of epidemiological models. In this study, we present an optimization model that takes into account infection and treatment costs. Using this model we can determine the level of treatment to be applied for a given rate of infection spread.