Ad Hoc networks security challenges

Ad Hoc networks lack a fixed infrastructure or centralized administration and are characterized by a highly dynamic topology, though these characteristics are appealing for use in many application domains, they also expose serious vulnerabilities which might be exploited to compromise one or several nodes of the network and possibly affecting overall performance. This introduces the challenge of offering a complete security solution that is effective, scalable and resource friendly. Such a solution should encompass the three components of prevention, detection and reaction. This paper aims to examine the vulnerabilities of Ad Hoc networks, the types of attacks expected and to discuss proactive and reactive techniques which deter such attacks, detect infiltrations and react against them.