Ensuring Cooperation with Routing Protocols in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

Abstract. We consider the security of routing protocols for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). We present a classification of routing protocols for MANETs, followed by a brief description of the four base routing protocols as identified by the IETF’s Mobile Ad-hoc Networks work-ing group. Afterwards, focusing on the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol, we provide a taxonomy of attacks and vulnerabilities and present some of the current schemes to tackle them. Based on that knowledge, we propose a new security scheme that rewards nodes that comply with the routing protocol specifications.