Identifying Intruders in MANET: Exploiting RREP Message of AODV Protocol

Mobile ad hoc networks are characterized by wireless medium used for communication, frequent change of topology, and non-availability of centralized control for authentication. Out of all the attributes, communication through open air poses the biggest threat to security. Absence of security implementations by the routing protocols gives opening for intrusion to malicious nodes which then operate various attacks to hinder the normal communication. Solution suggested modifies vastly used AODV protocol to exploit the unused reserved bits of RREP message for identifying the malicious nodes in the MANET. Proposed algorithm finds the neighbors of the destination through RREQ messages, identifies vindictive neighbors providing contrived DSNs of the destination.