Packet storage time attack - a novel routing attack in mobile ad hoc networks

The dynamic distributed topology of a Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) provides a number of challenges associated with decentralized infrastructure where each node can act as the source, destination and relay for traffic. MANET's are a suitable solution for distributed regional, military and emergency networks. MANETs do not utilize fixed infrastructure except where connectivity to carrier networks is required and MANET nodes provide the transmission capability to receive, transmit and route traffic from a sender node to the destination node. In this paper we present a Packet Storage Time (PST) routing attack where an attacking node modifies its storage time and thereby does not forward packets to the intended recipient nodes. In the Human Immune System, cells are able to distinguish between a range of issues including foreign body attacks as well as cellular senescence. This paper presents an approach using an Artificial Immune System that mimics the strategy of the Human Immune System to identify the source of a PST routing attack.