Security in MANET using Detection Engine

With the growing need of the time systems are becoming more and more sophisticated. Simple systems are changing drastically into more useful and complicated systems. Computer networks saw a major change from wired to wireless networks and quick wireless infrastructure became a new trend. Among many other wireless networks emerged MANET. Because of dynamic topology and no centralization, traditional routing protocols and security schemes does not work with MANETs. These characteristics of MANETs make them susceptible to many attacks and malicious activities not possible in other networks. Nodes in the network handle packets which increases the risk of both active and passive attacks. Many solutions are being developed to cope up with the increasing threats to security of MANETs. Here we propose a Detection Engine that identifies these activities at MAC layer. We use wireless 802.11 protocols with CSMA/CA. First, the detection engine adapts itself to the CTS/RTS model in MAC layer. Any identification of false activity based on delays in packet handling and transmissions is flagged as malicious. Timers in MAC layer are used for better detection of malicious activities. Finally, false nodes are eliminated from the communication network. The results and theoretical values are verified using the FSM implementation. The advantages of proposed system over others are also explained.