Find in Library

A new kind of malware called <i>Mirai</i> is spreading like wildfire. Mirai is characterized by targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Since IoT devices are increasing explosively, it is not realistic to manage their vulnerability by human-wave tactics. This paper proposes a new approach that uses a white-hat worm to fight malware. The white-hat worm is an extension of an IoT worm called <i>Hajime</i> and introduces lifespan and secondary infectivity (the ability to infect a device infected by Mirai). The proposed white-hat worm was expressed as a formal model with agent-oriented Petri nets called <i>PN<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mn>2</mn> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula></i>. The model enables us to simulate a battle between the white-hat worm and Mirai. The result of the simulation evaluation shows that (i) the lifespan successfully reduces the worm&#8217;s remaining if short; (ii) if the worm has low secondary infectivity, its effect depends on the lifespan; and (iii) if the worm has high secondary infectivity, it is effective without depending on the lifespan.