Prevention of jamming attacks is critical to the successful deployment of ad hoc or mesh networks. The objective of this project is to consider the problem of jamming in a holistic way and design a framework towards coping with these attacks. The framework will unify the functionalities of deterring, detecting, and alleviating the effects of jamming.
Unlike previous efforts this research will (a) exploit physical layer capabilities such as the tunability of power/rate and the use of smart antennas to cope with jamming and (b) design solutions that are based on strong experimental foundation. Furthermore, the design will seek to address jamming attacks by not only external adversaries but also internally compromised nodes that send large volumes of seemingly legitimate data. The project will encompass the following tasks: (i) Extensive experiments to understand the impact of jamming and identification of behavioral traits during a jamming attack. (ii) Design of methods to obfuscate traffic patterns such that the jammer will be unable to target important nodes or locations in the network (iii) Use of the experimental knowhow in the design of the framework for detecting jamming attacks and (iv) Exploiting physical layer capabilities such as rate/power and smart antennas to cope with attacks.
This research is expected to broadly impact successful future deployments of vehicular and municipal ad hoc/mesh networks. It will also be tightly knit with educational programs that will augment wireless teaching laboratories and introduce cross-disciplinary courses that bridge the physical and higher layers.
