Securing MANET databases using metadata and context information

Existing commercial database security products cannot guarantee to provide the same level database security in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANET) as in wired networks. In this paper, we presented a secure MANET database system that uses metadata and context information for database access control. First, we designed and implemented a context-based security model that uses context factors, such as location and velocity, to make security and trust decisions on granting database access. This model can detect the abnormal behaviors from compromised mobile nodes and alleviate the damages from the attackers. Second, we implemented a metadata-based mandatory access control mechanism to achieve multiple security level across different security domains. In summary, we integrated the context-based access control model with the traditional mandatory access control model to ensure access control for MANET databases.