Modeling Email Worm Propagation Using Game Theory

One of the most prevalent security problems in network is the rampant propagation of email worms. In this paper game theory is suggested as a method for modeling and computing the probabilities of expected behaviors of email users in the email worm propagation process. The game situation models the actions of the email users under the condition that at the time they open an attachment, the system may be infected. Results of email worm propagation simulation under a practical simulation environment show that well camouflaged worms spread more quickly and survive longer than naive worms, moreover, user's security consciousness and the update frequency of anti-virus software make great impact on email worm propagation.