A comprehensive review on lightweight security mechanisms to mitigate network layer-based active attacks

Abstract

Node mobility, infrastructure-less network, open network boundary, and limited resources are general characteristic features of a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET). These characters open MANETs to many security attacks. Network layer-based active attacks such as black-hole and gray-hole attacks are common and destructive. Proposed solutions for these attacks failed to perform well. Some mechanisms that are used in an infrastructure-based network were proposed as lightweight security mechanisms for MANETs. One hundred and two reputed journal and quality conference papers were selected for the review. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed available security solutions, including lightweight solutions on MANET. The review proved that there is a demand for a lightweight security solution capable of operating with limited resources and mitigating active attacks without a performance drop