Design of a mathematical model for the Stuxnet virus in a network of critical control infrastructure

The purpose of this study is to develop an epidemic virus model that portrays the spread of the Stuxnet virus in a critical control infrastructure after bridging the air-gap between a normal local area network and the critical network. Removable storage media plays an important role in the transfer of data and virus to the computers connected to the critical network (consisting of industrial controllers) and this can compromise the whole system. A mathematical model is formulated that incorporates these features and depicts the controlling mechanism. Disease free and endemic equilibria are analyzed in terms of the basic reproduction number R-0. Global stability of disease free and endemic equilibrium points are analyzed using Lyapunov functions. Numerical simulations are performed to determine the accuracy of the proposed model for the smart Stuxnet virus which is designed to target critical industrial systems. Model shows very good resemblance with the observed real life data available for this virus. Future work may invoke interesting results and control strategies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.