An intrusion detection & adaptive response mechanism for MANETs

Mobile ad hoc networks are vulnerable to a variety of network layer attacks such as black hole, gray hole, sleep deprivation & rushing attacks. In this paper we present an intrusion detection & adaptive response mechanism for MANETs that detects a range of attacks and provides an effective response with low network degradation. We consider the deficiencies of a fixed response to an intrusion; and we overcome these deficiencies with a flexible response scheme that depends on the measured confidence in the attack, the severity of attack and the degradation in network performance. We present results from an implementation of the response scheme that has three intrusion response actions. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed detection and adaptive response mechanisms in various attack scenarios. An analysis of the impact of our proposed scheme shows that it allows a flexible approach to management of threats and demonstrates improved network performance with a low network overhead.