Time-based approaches in malware simulation for responsive measure deployment

A computer implemented malware protection method to protect at least a subset of a set of computer systems from a malware, the method comprising:

• simulating a propagation of the malware through the set of computer systems using a model of the set of computer systems, wherein the simulating comprises
• accessing a model of the network, the model comprising a plurality of computer nodes, each computer node of the plurality of computer nodes being connected to at least one edge of a plurality of edges, wherein each edge of the plurality of edges connects a pair of computer modes of the plurality of computer nodes;
• initiating an outbreak of the malware in the model at a predetermined source computer node of the plurality of computer nodes;
• and
• propagating the malware through the model of the network from the source computer node over a plurality of step-times, the propagation being determined based on a rate of transmission per step-time for each edge;
• wherein each step-time of the plurality of step-times corresponds to a temporal point that is universal across the network, such that at each step-time the malware propagation through the network occurs simultaneously for each edge of the plurality of edges according to the rate of transmission per step-time for each edge;
• and
• identifying one or more malware protection measures to be deployed to one or more of the set of computer systems based on the simulating.

A system for simulating propagation of malware in a network comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a non-transitory memory;
• and
• one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the non-transitory memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors so that the system for simulating the propagation of malware in the network is at least configured to:
• access a model of the network, the model comprising a plurality of computer nodes, each computer node of the plurality of computer nodes being connected to at least one edge of a plurality of edges, wherein each edge of the plurality of edges connects a pair of computer nodes of the plurality of computer nodes;
• initiate an outbreak of the malware in the model at a predetermined source computer node of the plurality of computer nodes;
• and
• propagate the malware through the model of the network from the source computer node over a plurality of step-times, the propagation being determined based on a rate of transmission per step-time for each edge;
• wherein each step-time of the plurality of step-times corresponds to a temporal point that is universal across the network, such that at each step-time the malware propagation through the network occurs simultaneously for each edge of the plurality of edges according to the rate of transmission per step-time for each edge.