Traffic Remapping Attacks in Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

Ad hoc networks rely on the mutual cooperation of stations. As such, they are susceptible to selfish attacks that abuse network mechanisms. Class-based QoS provisioning mechanisms, such as the EDCA function of IEEE 802.11, are particularly prone to traffic remapping attacks, which may bring an attacker better QoS without exposing it to easy detection. Such attacks have been studied in wireless LANs, whereas their impact in multihop settings is less known. We provide a definition of traffic remapping attacks, highlighting their ease of execution, and analyze their impact in multihop networks. Suitable detection methods and defense measures are also discussed and evaluated.