A Review of Security Techniques against Black Hole Attacks in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Abstract

Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a special type of a wireless network formed by nodes that communicate without any fixed infrastructure or centralised management. Nodes in MANET act as a router and a host. These nodes are free to join and leave the network. Routes are established by use of special routing protocols. Mobility of nodes makes the network topology dynamic at any given time. These unique features together with unsecured boundaries make the security of MANETs a challenging endeavor. MANETs are prone to attacks such black hole among others. Sometimes the black hole nodes cooperate forming cooperative black hole attack that drop or redirecting data packets. This paper reviews various security techniques and routing protocols against black hole attacks and establishes their limitations. The identified knowledge gaps will be used as a foundation for the development of a resilient security technique against collaborative black hole attacks.