Hotspot-based traceback for mobile ad hoc networks

Traceback schemes are useful to identify the source of an attack. Existing traceback systems are not suitable for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) because they rely on assumptions such as trustworthy routers and static route topology that do not hold in the ad hoc platform. In this paper, we propose a single-packet traceback solution that is extended from the hash-based traceback scheme [19] but not relying on these assumptions. In particular, our solution is fully distributed and resilient in the face of arbitrary number of collaborative adversaries.In this paper, we develop a new technique, namely Tagged Bloom Filters, as an efficient means to store additional information associated with each incoming packet. The additional information can be used to accurately recover the attack path when an attack packet is queried in a traceback session. Based on this technique, we propose several distributed schemes, collectively called Hotspot-Based Traceback schemes, to defeat attacks under different security requirements. We present the protocol design, study possible security caveats and propose the corresponding countermeasures.We present both theoretical and experimental results using ns-2 [8] simulations to show the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach.