Challenges in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

Abstract

In the recent years, mobile networking via smart phones and mobile telephones is broadly recognized as an infrastructure based networking. Many mobile devices support a variety of communication interfaces that are suitable for ad-hoc communication. For example, WIFI and Bluetooth can be used for ad-hoc networking. One key reason, why are these networking devices hardly used in ad-hoc mode by mobile applications, is that limitations in the reliability of network access. Despite all technical issues the consideration of social aspects and commercial aspects is a major point for any success of MANET technology for mobile applications. Mobile Adhoc networks are such type of networks which does not have any centralized authentication and the nodes communicate with each other. MANET is a kind of Ad Hoc network with mobile, wireless nodes. Due to its special characteristics like dynamic topology, hop-by-hop communications and easy and quick setup, MANET faced lots of challenges allegorically routing, security and clustering. The security challenges arise due to MANET’s self-configuration and self-maintenance capabilities. In MANET security plays a vital role for safe communication. The focus is given on security of Mobile Adhoc Networks. MANET is open network which is available for the malicious and trustworthy users to communicate. The MANET has to design a robust solution which deals with such type of malicious attackers so that a health network transmission takes place between trustworthy nodes. The Mobile Adhoc Networks are the network which works in separation along with the wired infrastructure. This elasticity of MANET is its biggest strength but it is also a big vulnerability for security issues. In the current paper, we will discuss the active and passive attacks including black hole attacks, spoofing, warm hole, flooding and traffic monitoring, traffic analysis and eavesdropping respectively. In this paper, we present an elaborate view of issues in MANET security. Based on MANET’s special characteristics, we define three security parameters for MANET. We argue a message centric approach to ad-hoc networking, which trusts on simple store and forward mechanism to spread data asynchronously in the network. We will also discuss the active and passive attacks including black hole attacks, spoofing, warm hole, flooding and traffic monitoring, traffic analysis and eavesdropping respectively.