The dramatic increase in network services through new paradigms—including cloud computing, the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, and critical infrastructures protection—makes it necessary to develop methodologies, tools, and technologies to guarantee the security of digital data, processes, and networks against cyberattacks. Such attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, evolving into advanced persistent threats which are often based on an array of malware types (ransomware, zero-day malware, and so on).

Although the scientific approach to combat malware is mainly focused on the design of efficient methods to detect all types of malware, the design and computational implementation of mathematical models to simulate its propagation are also a very important task. These models allow us not only to predict the evolutional behaviour of malware, but also to study the efficacy of possible countermeasures. As such, these analytical tools could play a very important role in forensic computing and cybercrime investigations and security operation centers.

The main purpose of this special issue is to provide both theoreticians and practitioners with a forum to present their research on the design, analysis, and implementation of models for malware spread and control. Through both theoretical and experimental studies, we seek to identify new applications within this developing field. We encourage original research papers related to this topic, as well as high-quality review articles describing the current state of the art.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Deterministic models for malware propagation
• Stochastic models for malware propagation
• Individual-based and agent-based models for malware propagation
• Network models for malware propagation
• Mathematical analysis of malware propagation models
• Control of malware spread
• Relationships between infectious diseases models and malware models
• Virus source identification algorithms
• Data-driven modeling of malware propagation
• Related computational implementation and software tools