03-05-2011, 04:20 PM
ABSTRACT
Mobile ad hoc networks and wireless sensor
networks have promised a wide variety of applications.
However, they are often deployed in
potentially adverse or even hostile environments.
Therefore, they cannot be readily deployed without
first addressing security challenges. Intrusion
detection systems provide a necessary layer of
in-depth protection for wired networks. However,
relatively little research has been performed
about intrusion detection in the areas of mobile
ad hoc networks and wireless sensor networks.
In this article, first we briefly introduce
mobile ad hoc networks and wireless sensor networks
and their security concerns. Then, we
focus on their intrusion detection capabilities.
Specifically, we present the challenge of constructing
intrusion detection systems for mobile
ad hoc networks and wireless sensor networks,
survey the existing intrusion detection techniques,
and indicate important future research
directions.
INTRODUCTION
Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and wireless
sensor networks (WSNs) are relatively new
communication paradigms. MANETs do not
require expensive base stations or wired infrastructure.
Nodes within radio range of each
other can communicate directly over wireless
links, and those that are far apart use other
nodes as relays. Each host in a MANET also
acts as a router as routes are mostly multihop.
The lack of fixed infrastructure and centralized
authority makes a MANET suitable for a broad
range of applications in both military and civilian
environments. For example, a MANET could be
deployed quickly for military communications in
the battlefield. A MANET also could be
deployed quickly in scenarios such as a meeting
room, a city transportation wireless network, for
fire fighting, and so on. To form such a cooperative
and self-configurable network, every mobile
host should be a friendly node and willing to
relay messages for others. In the original design
of a MANET, global trustworthiness in nodes
within the whole network is a fundamental security
assumption.
Recent progress in wireless communications
and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS)
technology has made it feasible to build miniature
wireless sensor nodes that integrate sensing,
data processing, and communicating capabilities.
These miniature wireless sensor nodes can be
extremely small, as tiny as a cubic centimeter.
Compared with conventional computers, the
low-cost, battery-powered, sensor nodes have a
limited energy supply, stringent processing and
communications capabilities, and memory is
scarce. The design and implementation of relevant
services for WSNs must keep these limitations
in mind. Based on the collaborative efforts
of a large number of sensor nodes, WSNs have
become good candidates to provide economically
viable solutions for a wide range of applications,
such as environmental monitoring, scientific data
collection, health monitoring, and military operations
An example WSN is illustrated in Fig. 1. In
Fig. 1, the WSN is deployed to detect targets.
After sensor nodes detect a target, they can collaboratively
route data to a base station for analysis.
Then, the base station can transmit data
further to users through another communications
infrastructure, for example, the Internet.
Despite the wide variety of potential applications,
MANETs and WSNs often are deployed
in adverse or even hostile environments. Therefore,
they cannot be readily deployed without
first addressing security challenges. Due to the
features of an open medium, the low degree of
physical security of mobile nodes, a dynamic
topology, a limited power supply, and the
absence of a central management point [2],
MANETs are more vulnerable to malicious
attacks than traditional wired networks are. In
WSNs, the lack of physical security
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