Route Manipulation Attack in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) is an emerging technology that has played an important role in the wireless communication scenario. Wireless Mesh Networks are becoming popular as a way of providing Internet access in a cost-effective, easy, and fast manner. However, due to their intrinsic characteristics such as open medium, WMNs are vulnerable to various types of attacks, which aim at disrupting their routing operations. Infected mesh nodes can generate malicious traffic, which puts the other mesh nodes at risk. In this paper, we present a routing manipulation attack against Better Approach To Mobile Ad hoc Network (BATMAN), a proactive routing protocol designed especially for WMNs. We provide a detailed analysis of the attack and demonstrate its feasibility through a virtualized network environment running BATMAN protocol instances in virtual machines. After, we present a mechanism to detect this kind of attack and identify the source of the attack.