Security in wireless ad-hoc networks – A survey

R. Di Pietro, S. Guarino, N.V. Verde, J. Domingo-Ferrer
2014 Computer Communications  
9 Pervasive mobile and low-end wireless technologies, such as radiofrequency identification (RFID), wireless sensor networks and the impending vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs), make the wireless scenario exciting and in full transformation. For all the above (and similar) technologies to fully unleash their potential in the industry and society, there are two pillars that cannot be overlooked: security and privacy. Both properties are especially relevant if we focus on ad-hoc wireless
more » ... , where devices are required to cooperate -e.g. from routing to the application layer -to attain their goals. In this paper, we survey emerging and established wireless ad-hoc technologies and we highlight their security/privacy features and deficiencies. We also identify open research issues and technology challenges for each surveyed technology. 10 12 or more physical devices, usually called "nodes" of the network. The lack of 13 wires permits to overcome most limitations of traditional wired networks, al-14 lowing deployment in hostile environments or mobile scenarios. When nodes do 15 not depend on any preexisting infrastructure, wireless networks take the name 16 of wireless ad-hoc networks. In this case, communications rely on the ability 17 of the nodes to form a multi-hop radio network. Generally speaking, several 18 vulnerabilities can be identified in ad-hoc networks, and at a very abstract level 19 they can be related to one of the following issues: 20 Vulnerability of the channel Messages can be eavesdropped and fake mes-21 sages can be injected or replayed into the network, without the hurdle of need-22 ing physical access to network components. 23
doi:10.1016/j.comcom.2014.06.003 fatcat:dxpctx3ta5c6fllp2pxacffl2y