{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T19:34:23Z","timestamp":1774121663768,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,13]],"date-time":"2017-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1484265600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation (NSF) of China","award":["61672441"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["61672441"]}]},{"name":"ational Natural Science Foundation (NSF) of China","award":["U1536115"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U1536115"]}]},{"name":"Promotion Program for Young and Middle-aged Teacher in Science and Technology Research of Huaqiao University","award":["ZQN-PY308"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ZQN-PY308"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>WSANs (Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks) are derived from traditional wireless sensor networks by introducing mobile actuator elements. Previous studies indicated that mobile actuators can improve network performance in terms of data collection, energy supplementation, etc. However, according to our experimental simulations, the actuator\u2019s mobility also causes the sensor worm to spread faster if an attacker launches worm attacks on an actuator and compromises it successfully. Traditional worm propagation models and defense strategies did not consider the diffusion with a mobile worm carrier. To address this new problem, we first propose a microscopic mathematical model to describe the propagation dynamics of the sensor worm. Then, a two-step local defending strategy (LDS) with a mobile patcher (a mobile element which can distribute patches) is designed to recover the network. In LDS, all recovering operations are only taken in a restricted region to minimize the cost. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our model estimations are rather accurate and consistent with the actual spreading scenario of the mobile sensor worm. Moreover, on average, the LDS outperforms other algorithms by approximately 50% in terms of the cost.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s17010139","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,13]],"date-time":"2017-01-13T10:08:37Z","timestamp":1484302117000},"page":"139","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":56,"title":["Propagation Modeling and Defending of a Mobile Sensor Worm in Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Tian","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Qun","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Sheng","family":"Wen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Information Technology, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 3125, Australia"}]},{"given":"Yiqiao","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Yonghong","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Technology, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China"}]},{"given":"Baowei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer and Software, Nanjing University of Information Science &amp; Technology, Nanjing 210044, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2014.04.036","article-title":"Environmental parameters monitoring in precision agriculture using wireless sensor networks","volume":"88","author":"Srbinovska","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1109\/CC.2016.7489970","article-title":"Efficient Algorithm for K-Barrier Coverage Based on Integer Linear Programming","volume":"13","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"China Commun."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"171","article-title":"A Novel Routing Protocol Providing Good Transmission Reliability in Underwater Sensor Networks","volume":"16","author":"Shen","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Internet Technol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1145\/2968450","article-title":"Following Targets for Mobile Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks","volume":"12","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Sens. Netw."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"106","article-title":"Extracting target detection knowledge based on spatiotemporal information in wireless sensor networks","volume":"129","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Distrib. Sens. Netw."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Yoo, S., Kim, J., Kim, T., Ahn, S., Sung, J., and Kim, D. (2007, January 20\u201323). A2S: Automated Agriculture System Based on WSN. Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Consumer Electronics, Dallas, TX, USA."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apm.2012.09.025","article-title":"Mathematical model on the transmission of worms in wireless sensor network","volume":"37","author":"Mishra","year":"2013","journal-title":"Appl. Math. Model."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1007\/s11277-014-1748-5","article-title":"Construction of Tree Network with Limited Delivery Latency in Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks","volume":"78","author":"Xie","year":"2014","journal-title":"Wirel. Pers. Commun."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129598","DOI":"10.1155\/2015\/129598","article-title":"Modeling and stability analysis of worm propagation in wireless sensor network","volume":"2015","author":"Feng","year":"2015","journal-title":"Math. Probl. Eng."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"2914","article-title":"Anomaly detection in wireless sensor network","volume":"9","author":"Mamun","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Netw."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"512","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adhoc.2011.09.006","article-title":"Distributed detection of mobile malicious node attacks in wireless sensor networks","volume":"10","author":"Ho","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ad Hoc Netw."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1016\/S1005-8885(11)60235-5","article-title":"Modeling and analysis of anti-worm in p2p networks","volume":"19","author":"Xin","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. China Univ. Posts Telecommun."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Aziz, A. (2011). Computer Worm Defense System and Method. (US8006305 B2), U.S. Patent."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, B., Ding, P., and Sheng, J. (2008, January 18\u201321). P2P Anti-worm: Modeling and Analysis of a New Worm Counter-measurement Strategy. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Young Computer Scientists, Hunan, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICYCS.2008.471"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"958","DOI":"10.1360\/crad20070607","article-title":"Modeling and analysis of active-benign worms and hybrid-benign worms","volume":"44","author":"Zhou","year":"2007","journal-title":"Comput. Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"33","article-title":"White Worms Don\u2019t Work","volume":"31","author":"Weaver","year":"2006","journal-title":"USENIX Mag."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Giannetsos, T., Dimitriou, T., and Prasad, N.R. (2009, January 1\u20134). Self-propagating worms in wireless sensor networks. Proceedings of the 5th International Student Workshop on Emerging Networking Experiments and Technologies, Rome, Italy.","DOI":"10.1145\/1658997.1659015"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cose.2010.10.002","article-title":"A study of self-propagating mal-packets in sensor networks: Attacks and defenses","volume":"30","author":"Gu","year":"2011","journal-title":"Comput. Secur."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.14257\/ijgdc.2014.7.3.25","article-title":"Optimal control model for attack of worms in wireless sensor network","volume":"7","author":"Keshri","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Grid Distrib. Comput."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jocs.2016.01.002","article-title":"Malware propagation modeling considering software diversity and immunization","volume":"13","author":"Hosseini","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Comput. Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1962","DOI":"10.1109\/TIFS.2014.2359333","article-title":"Differential game-based strategies for preventing malware propagation in wireless sensor networks","volume":"9","author":"Shen","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Secur."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2854","DOI":"10.1109\/TIFS.2016.2594130","article-title":"On the Race of Worms and Patches: Modeling the Spread of Information in Wireless Sensor Networks","volume":"11","author":"Haghighi","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Secur."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1080\/15501320500330760","article-title":"Infuse: A tdma based data dissemination protocol for sensor networks","volume":"2","author":"Kulkarni","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Distrib. Sens. Netw."},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"1","article-title":"Responsive parameter based an antiworm approach to prevent wormhole attack in ad hoc networks","volume":"5","author":"Shah","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Netw. Secur."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1504\/IJSN.2012.048479","article-title":"Defensive computer worms: an overview","volume":"7","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Secur. Netw."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1007\/s10776-011-0147-z","article-title":"A modied si epidemic model for combating virus spread in wireless sensor networks","volume":"18","author":"Tang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Wirel. Inf. Netw."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"1","article-title":"A quarantine model on the spreading behavior of worms in wireless sensor network","volume":"2","author":"Mishra","year":"2014","journal-title":"Trans. IoT Cloud Comput."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1109\/TDSC.2007.1001","article-title":"Modeling and simulation study of the propagation and defense of internet e-mail worms","volume":"4","author":"Zou","year":"2007","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Dependable Secur. Comput."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.3390\/computers4040283","article-title":"Hop-by-hop worm propagation with carryover epidemic model in mobile sensor networks","volume":"4","author":"Ho","year":"2015","journal-title":"Computers"},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Husted, N., and Myers, S. (April, January 30). Why mobile-to-mobile wireless malware won\u2019t cause a storm. Proceedings of the LEET 2011, Boston, MA, USA."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Valler, N.C., Prakash, B.A., Tong, H., Faloutsos, M., and Faloutsos, C. (2011, January 9\u201313). Epidemic spread in mobile ad hoc networks: Determining the tipping point. Proceedings of the 10th International IFIP TC 6 Conference on Networking, Valencia, Spain.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-20757-0_21"},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Chen, Z., Wang, M., Xu, L., and Wu, W. (2015). Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, Wiley."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adhoc.2016.04.011","article-title":"Improving sensor network immunity under worm attacks: A software diversity approach","volume":"47","author":"Yang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ad Hoc Netw."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Subha, S., and Sankar, U.G. (2015, January 9\u201310). Message authentication and wormhole detection mechanism in wireless sensor network. Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 9th International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Control (ISCO), Coimbatore, India.","DOI":"10.1109\/ISCO.2015.7282382"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abdallah, W., and Boudriga, N. (2016, January 25\u201327). A location-aware authentication and key management scheme for wireless sensor networks. Proceedings of the 2016 22nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Communications (APCC), Yogyakarta, Indonesia.","DOI":"10.1109\/APCC.2016.7581460"},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Noda, B., Omote, K., Higashikado, Y., Komura, M., Mitomo, M., and Torii, S. (2012). Anti-Worm Program, Anti-Worm Apparatus, and Anti-Worm Method. (8,307,445), U.S. Patent."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Newman, M. (2010). Networks: An Introduction, Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780199206650.003.0001"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1109\/TDSC.2013.49","article-title":"Modeling and analysis on the propagation dynamics of modern email malware","volume":"11","author":"Wen","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Dependable Secure Comput."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/1\/139\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:26:06Z","timestamp":1760207166000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/1\/139"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,13]]},"references-count":38,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,1]]}},"alternative-id":["s17010139"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s17010139","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,13]]}}}