Reputation methods for routing security for mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks have inherently very different properties to conventional networks. These new characteristics present major security vulnerabilities; in particular, one side effect of the unique way in which routing protocols operate in ad hoc networks is that many new threats arise. Selfish nodes are those which do not perform certain operations that the protocol specifies that they should, through a wish to conserve power. Malicious nodes may deliberately disrupt the network using a variety of attacks. The paper discusses reputation mechanisms which have been suggested as a means to mitigate the detrimental effect of selfish and malicious nodes. The paper reveals reasons why complex reputation systems may be too inefficient to use in a mobile ad hoc network, where resources are limited. However, suggestions are also made to show how a simple reputation system might be used to enhance the robustness of ad hoc networks.