Detection of jamming attacks in wireless ad hoc networks using error distribution

Abstract

Mobile ad hoc networks are a new wireless networking paradigm for mobile hosts. Unlike traditional mobile wireless networks, ad hoc networks do not rely on any fixed infrastructure. Instead, hosts rely on each other to keep the network connected. The military tactical and other security-sensitive operations are still the main applications of ad hoc networks. One main challenge in design of these networks is their vulnerability to Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. In this paper, we consider a particular class of DoS attacks called Jamming. The objective of a jammer is to interfere with legitimate wireless communications. A jammer can achieve this goal by either preventing a real traffic source from sending out a packet, or by preventing the reception of legitimate packets. We propose in this study a new method of detection of such attack by the measurement of error distribution. ©2009 IEEE.