A Security Architecture for Multihop Mobile Ad hoc Networks With Mobile Agents

Abstract

The traditional stipulation of security services in the mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) context faces a set of challenges specific to this new technology. While a multihop wireless mobile ad hoc network as an extended MANET can be formed without the need for any pre-existing infrastructure with minimum setup and administration costs; the security is undeniably a major "roadblock" in the commercial application of this technology at a production scale. Unlike other commercial grade wireless networking technologies, and wired networks, which rely mainly on existing infrastructure and favor urban areas with varying degree of in-place security infrastructure and centralized administration, these multihop MANETs are to be deployed to remote geographical locations, even inside hostile territories. The security challenges of such networks therefore, do not just include security of data and communication channels, but also the physical security of the hardware resources as well. This work is an attempt to resolve two fundamental and flaming security vulnerabilities in these multihop MANETs: The identification of a malicious node(s) and design of a robust security model that could be implemented, even in a hostile environment in the presence of a number of non-colluding nodes. The solutions are proposed by exploiting the mobile agent technologies. The only requirement is that any nodes that wish to communicate securely must simply establish a priori a shared set of mobile agents to be used subsequently by their communicating protocol suites