The ubiquity of portable wireless-enabled computing and communications
devices has stimulated the emergence of malicious codes (wireless worms) that
are capable of spreading between spatially proximal devices. The potential
exists for worms to be opportunistically transmitted between devices as they
move around, so human mobility patterns will have an impact on epidemic spread.
The scenario we address in this paper is proximity attacks from fleetingly
in-contact wireless devices with short-range communication range, such as
Bluetooth-enabled smart phones. An individual-based model of mobile devices is
introduced and the effect of population characteristics and device behaviour on
the outbreak dynamics is investigated. We show through extensive simulations
that in the above scenario the resulting mass-action epidemic models remain
applicable provided the contact rate is derived consistently from the
underlying mobility model. The model gives useful analytical expressions
against which more refined simulations of worm spread can be developed and
tested.Comment: Submitted for publicatio