Framework for Real-Time Simulations of Routing Security Attacks in VANETs

Abstract

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) rely on advanced networks, mainly vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). However, the deployment of VANETs in real world conditions is subject to a multitude of attacks that can severely impair the performance of the vehicular network and result in critical damage to people and materials. The primary purpose of this paper is to offer an experimental framework for real-time simulations of black hole attack in VANETs. The framework comprises three main components. First, the mobility component includes both OpenStreetMap and SUMO for generating realistic mobility models extracted from real world maps. The second component makes use of the network simulator NS-3 to model the entire protocol stack of VANET communications. A third component is devoted to data collection based on the monitoring of the vehicular network in real time by assessing the most important performance metrics, mainly throughput, lost packets and routing overhead. In this component, we suggest using a simple and reliable data extraction mechanism instead of processing the NS-3 ASCII trace files, often requiring higher processing time and computational capabilities. Our proposed framework can potentially be deployed for conducting real-time simulations of routing attacks in VANETs and evaluating their impact on the network throughput. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed framework, extensive simulations of the AODV routing protocol are carried out where a black hole attack is launched.