Modeling Internet-Scale Policies for Cleaning up Malware

摘要

An emerging consensus among policy makers is that interventions undertaken byInternet Service Providers are the best way to counter the rising incidence ofmalware. However, assessing the suitability of countermeasures at this scale ishard. In this paper, we use an agent-based model, called ASIM, to investigatethe impact of policy interventions at the Autonomous System level of theInternet. For instance, we find that coordinated intervention by the0.2%-biggest ASes is more effective than uncoordinated efforts adopted by 30%of all ASes. Furthermore, countermeasures that block malicious transit trafficappear more effective than ones that block outgoing traffic. The model allowsus to quantify and compare positive externalities created by differentcountermeasures. Our results give an initial indication of the types and levelsof intervention that are most cost-effective at large scale.