Cross-Layer Cooperation to Handle MAC Misbehavior in Ad Hoc Networks

Security in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) presents new challenges due to the lack of centralized control policy. Prior research in securing ad hoc networks has generally focused on securing ad hoc routing and medium access control separately. The consideration of handling node misbehavior via cross-layer cooperation, however, has not been fully addressed. In this paper, we propose a detailed system framework illustrating the secure cross-layer design in MANET. We focus on the cross-layer interaction between routing layer and MAC layer. These two layers work together to facilitate detection and reaction of node MAC misbehavior in the ad hoc networks. Existing methods are efficient to detect MAC misbehaviors, but it is more critical to react to these misbehaviors after correct diagnosis. We illustrate how to build a trust list based on the detection information obtained at MAC layer according to different MAC misbehavior. By utilizing this list, the routing layer can select trust-weighted route rather than the shortest one. Furthermore, several enhancement schemes for routing and MAC are presented to mitigate MAC layer misbehavior