Impact of Security Attacks on Spectrum Allocation in Cognitive Radio Networks

Abstract

Cognitive radio technology aims to solve the underutilized spectrum. Assignment of the unused free spectrum to the unlicensed users is a key function in cognitive radio networks (CRNs). In the past, several efficient resource allocation mechanisms have been proposed, which assume that the users are benign without any malignant intentions. However, malignant users can abnormally affect resource allocation and thereby cause significant degradation in the overall performance of the network. In this chapter, first we propose a distributed resource allocation algorithm that assumes that all the users are honest. Then, we relax this assumption and study the impact when malignant users are present in the network and do not follow the rules laid out in the algorithm. The attacks that can be launched by the malignant users are: Channel Ecto-Parasite Attack (CEPA), Network Endo-Parasite Attack (NEPA), and LOw-cost Ripple effect Attack (LORA). We show the impact of the above three attacks through numerical simulation results.