Abstract

Many computer viruses spread via electronic mail, making use of computer users' email address books as a source for email addresses of new victims. These address books form a directed social network of connections between individuals over which the virus spreads. Here we investigate empirically the structure of this network using data drawn from a large computer installation, and discuss the implications of this structure for the understanding and prevention of computer virus epidemics.

Keywords

Computer virusComputer scienceWorld Wide WebComputer security

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Publication Info

Year
2002
Type
article
Volume
66
Issue
3
Pages
035101-035101
Citations
794
Access
Closed

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M. E. J. Newman, Stephanie Forrest, Justin Balthrop (2002). Email networks and the spread of computer viruses. Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics , 66 (3) , 035101-035101. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.66.035101

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DOI
10.1103/physreve.66.035101