Avoiding Wormhole Attack in MANET Using an Extending Network Knowledge

Abstract

The shared nature of the Ad hoc networks makes it essential to secure them in order to guarantee a better reliability of the application services using their infrastructure. Indeed, the specific characteristics of ad hoc networks, such as the absence of infrastructure, the absence of a central trust unit, and the use of the radio channel, require the development of specific solutions to secure these networks, taking into account the constraints related to the cooperation between nodes, mobility, energy and free access to the medium. The work done in this paper focuses on the contribution to the improvement of network security through the strengthening of security in the case of multi-hop wireless networks and more particularly the detection of malicious nodes that can affect the control plane of the network layer. We have contributed to the development of new solutions to deal with the black hole attack in the case of the OLSR protocol widely used in the ad hoc context. Black hole is an attack that can be carried out by one malicious node or a coalition of several malicious nodes. The Optimized Link State Routing Protocol is developed for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. It operates as a Table driven, proactive protocol. The core of the OLSR is the selection of Multipoint Relays (MPRs), used as a component of a flooding mechanism. MPRs distribute control traffic messages within the network while reducing the redundancy in the flooding process. An OLSR node selects its MPR set in a manner that all two hop neighbors are reachable by the minimum number of MPRs. However, if an MPR misbehaves during the control phase, the network connectivity is then compromised. This paper introduces a new Multipoint Relays (MPR) selection algorithm with additional coverage. It also specifies an extension of the OLSR protocol in order to provide multiple disjoint paths especially for dynamic topologies. Disjoint paths are helpful for increasing network throughput, improving forwarding reliability, load balancing and security.