On the Vulnerability of Large Graphs

Given a large graph, like a computer network, which k nodes should we immunize (or monitor, or remove), to make it as robust as possible against a computer virus attack? We need (a) a measure of the `Vulnerability' of a given network, (b) a measure of the `Shield-value' of a specific set of k nodes and (c) a fast algorithm to choose the best such k nodes. We answer all these three questions: we give the justification behind our choices, we show that they agree with intuition as well as recent results in immunology. Moreover, we propose NetShield, a fast and scalable algorithm. Finally, we give experiments on large real graphs, where NetShield achieves tremendous speed savings exceeding 7 orders of magnitude, against straightforward competitors.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: ICDM
• Authors: Hanghang Tong, B. Aditya Prakash, Charalampos E. Tsourakakis, Tina Eliassi-Rad, Christos Faloutsos, Duen Horng Chau
• Keywords: Data Mining, Fast Algorithm, ICDM 2010, Large Real Graphs, Tremendous Speed Savings