Complex pattern evolution of a two-dimensional space diffusion model of malware spread

Abstract

Abstract In order to investigate the propagation mechanism of malware in cyber-physical systems (CPSs), the cross-diffusion in two-dimensional space is attempted to be introduced into a class of susceptible-infected (SI) malware propagation model depicted by partial differential equations (PDEs). Most of the traditional reaction-diffusion models of malware propagation only take into account the self-diffusion in one-dimensional space, but take less consideration of the cross-diffusion in two-dimensional space. This paper investigates the spatial diffusion behaviour of malware nodes spreading through physical devices. The formations of Turing patterns after homogeneous stationary instability triggered by Turing bifurcation are investigated by linear stability analysis and multiscale analysis methods. The conditions under the occurence of Hopf bifurcation and Turing bifurcation in the malware model are obtained. The amplitude equations are derived in the vicinity of the bifurcation point to explore the conditions for the formation of Turing patterns in two-dimensional space. And the corresponding patterns are obtained by varying the control parameters. It is shown that malicious virus nodes spread in different forms including hexagons, stripes and a mixture of the two. This paper will extend a new direction for the study of system security theory.