Reputation-Based Attack-Resistant Cooperation Stimulation (RACS) For Mobile Ad hoc Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces RACS, a reputation-based system designed to promote cooperation and resist attacks in mobile ad hoc networks, effectively bounding malicious damage and encouraging selfish nodes to cooperate.

Contribution

The paper proposes a novel, fully self-organizing, distributed reputation system that enforces cooperation and resists malicious attacks without needing centralized control or tamper-proof hardware.

Findings

Mathematical analysis confirms system effectiveness

Simulation results demonstrate attack resistance and cooperation enforcement

RACS bounds malicious damage and promotes selfish node cooperation

Abstract

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), nodes usually belong to different authorities and pursue different goals. In order to maximize their own performance, nodes in such networks tend to be selfish and are not willing to forward packets for benefit of others. Meanwhile, some nodes may behave maliciously and try to disrupt the network through wasting other nodes resources in a very large scale. In this article, we present a reputation-based attack resistant cooperation stimulation (RACS) system which ensures that damage caused by malicious nodes can be bounded and cooperation among the selfish nodes can be enforced. Mathematical analyses of the system as well as the simulation results have confirmed effectiveness of our proposed system. RACS is completely self-organizing and distributed. It does not require any tamper-proof hardware or central management policy.