Regression-based trust model for mobile <i>ad hoc</i> networks

Abstract

The focus of this study is to propose a generalised trust-model over routing protocols in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). It is observed that the presence of malicious nodes is a critical factor affecting the network performance in an ad hoc network. The novelty in the approach is that the notion of trust can be easily incorporated into any routing protocol in MANETs. The vector auto regression based trust model is introduced to identify malicious nodes that launch multiple attacks in the network. The proposed trust model is incorporated over ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol and optimised link state routing (OLSR) protocol in MANETs. The performance evaluations show that by carefully setting the trust parameters, substantial benefit in terms of throughput can be obtained with minimal overheads. The computed trust and confidence values are introduced into the path computation process of the ad hoc routing protocols. It was observed that the nodes in the network were able to learn the malicious activities of their neighbours and hence, alternate trustworthy paths are taken to avoid data loss in the network, with trade-offs in end-to-end packet delay and routing traffic.