Intrusion Detection in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

As the recent denial-of-service attacks on several major Internet sites have shown us, no open computer network is immune from intrusions. The wireless ad-hoc network is particularly vulnerable due to its features of open medium, dynamic changing topology, cooperative algorithms, lack of centralized monitoring and management point, and lack of a clear line of defense. Many of the intrusion detection techniques developed on a fixed wired network are not applicable in this new environment. How to do it differently and effectively is a challenging research problem. In this paper, we examine the vulnerabilities of a wireless ad-hoc network, and describe the new intelligent intrusion detection and response mechanisms (using neural network) that we are developing for wireless ad-hoc networks.