Security Threats and Issues with MANET

Abstract

In recent years, mobile ad hoc networks have received tremendous attention because of their self configuration capabilities. Although security has long been an active research topic in wireless networks, the unique characteristics of MANETs present a new set of non trivial challenges to security design. These challenges include open network architecture, shared wireless medium, stringent resource constraints, and highly dynamic network topology. Consequently, the existing security solutions for wired networks do not directly apply to the MANET domain. The ultimate goal of the security solution for MANET is to provide security services, such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity, anonymity, and availability to the mobile users. One distinguishing characteristics of MANETs from the security design perspective is the lack of a clear line of defense. The wireless channel is accessible to both legitimate network users and malicious attackers. There is no well defined place where traffic monitoring or access control mechanisms can be deployed. As a result, the boundary that separates the inside network from the outside world becomes blurred.