FAPMIC: Fake Packet and Selective Packet Drops Attacks Mitigation By Merkle Hash Tree in Intermittently Connected Networks

Abstract

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are a special category of IntermittentlyConnectedNetworks (ICNs). It has features such as long-delay, frequent-disruption, asymmetrical-data-rates, and high-bundle-error-rates. DTNs have been mainly developed for planet-to-planet networks, commonly known as Inter-Planetary-Networks (IPNs). However, DTNs have shown undimmed potency in challenged communication networks, such as DakNet, ZebraNet, KioskNet and WiderNet. Due to unique characteristics (Intermittent-connectivity and long-delay) DTNs face tough/huge/several challenges in various research areas i.e bundle-forwarding, key-distribution, privacy, bundle-fragmentation, and malicious/selfish nodes particularly. Malicious/selfish nodes launch various catastrophic attacks, this includes, fake packet attacks, selective packet drops attacks, and denial-of-service/flood attacks. These attacks inevitably consume limited resources (persistent-buffer and bandwidth) in DTNs. Fake-packet and selective-packet-drops attacks are top among the challenging attacks in ICNs. The focus of this article is on critical analyses of fake-packet and selective-packet-drops attacks. The panoramic view on misbehavior nodes mitigation algorithms are analyzed, and evaluated mathematically through several parameters for detection probability/accuracy. This article presents a novel algorithm to detects/mitigates fake-packet and selective-packet-drops attacks. Trace-driven simulation results show the proposed algorithm of this article accurately (enhanced detection accuracy, reduces false-positive/false-negative rates) detects malicious nodes which launch fake-packet and selective-packet-drops attacks, unlike previously proposed algorithms which detect only one attack (fake-packet or packet-drops at a time) or detect only malicious path (do not exactly detect malicious nodes which launch attacks).