Simulation of Botnets: Agent-Based Approach

The paper considers an approach intended to investigate botnets and botnet defence using agent-based simulation. We explore various botnet attacks and counteraction against them on the example of defence against Distribute Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. We represent botnet and defence components as agent teams. Agents are supposed to collect information from various network sources, operate different situational knowledge, and react to actions of other agents. The paper describes the common simulation framework, agent-based simulation environment, and the results of experiments aimed to investigate botnets and DDoS defence mechanisms.