Title: An effective attack detection approach in wireless mesh networks

Authors: Felipe Barbosa Abreu; Anderson Morais; Ana Cavalli; Bachar Wehbi; Edgardo Montes de Oca; Wissam Mallouli

Addresses: Télécom SudParis, 9 Rue Charles Fourier, 91000 Evry, France ' Télécom SudParis, 9 Rue Charles Fourier, 91000 Evry, France ' Télécom SudParis, 9 Rue Charles Fourier, 91000 Evry, France ' Montimage, 39 rue Bobillot, 75013 Paris, France ' Montimage, 39 rue Bobillot, 75013 Paris, France ' Montimage, 39 rue Bobillot, 75013 Paris, France

Abstract: Wireless mesh network (WMN) is a recent technology that is gaining significant importance among traditional wireless networks. It is considered a suitable solution for providing internet access in an inexpensive, convenient, and rapid manner. Nonetheless, WMNs are exposed to various types of security threats due to their intrinsic characteristics such as open broadcast medium and decentralised architecture. For instance, a compromised node can generate malicious traffic in order to disrupt the network routing service, putting the entire mesh network at risk. In this paper, we provide an efficient method for detecting active attacks against the routing functionality of a mesh network. The approach relies on the analysis of the protocol routing behaviour by processing the traces produced by each node using the Montimage Monitoring Tool (MMT), which outputs routing events that are correlated between nodes to detect potential intrusions. We demonstrate the approach feasibility by using a virtualised mesh network platform that consists of virtual nodes executing 'better approach to mobile ad hoc network' (BATMAN) routing protocol. The experimental results show that the proposed method accurately identifies malicious routing traffic diffused by an attacker through the network.

Keywords: wireless mesh networks; WMNs; routing attacks; attack detection; network trace; network security.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSC.2015.069204

International Journal of Space-Based and Situated Computing, 2015 Vol.5 No.2, pp.89 - 99

Received: 01 Feb 2014
Accepted: 04 Aug 2014

Published online: 05 May 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article