MANET-Rank: A Framework for Defence Protocols against Packet Dropping Attacks in MANETs

Flying ad hoc networks (FANETs) are collections of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or nodes which deliver network services to areas lacking fixed infrastructure. The protocols controlling the flow of data in these ad hoc networks are prone to cyber attacks. In this paper, we consider cyber attacks in the form of probabilistic packet dropping or grey hole attacks which are executed by compromised nodes within the network. The defence protocols used to thwart this attack are usually evaluated in restricted environments with a low range of packet dropping attacks. To remedy this, we propose a new competitive evaluation framework, MANET-Rank, which uses empirical game theoretic analysis and bootstrapping to assess the effectiveness of defence protocols in ad hoc networks. Specifically, game theory is used to strategically assess the most effective protocol whilst bootstrapping generates an effective ranking metric from a small number of simulations. To assess the effectiveness of MANET-Rank, we conduct a comparative analysis of two previously proposed protocols by comparing the results of MANET-Rank and those generated by established evaluation methods. As a result, we demonstrate that MANET-Rank yields superior conclusions.