Analyzing Security Measures for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks Using Attack and Protection Trees

ABSTRACT

Attack trees are a method of conducting a risk analysis on a system. Protection trees are an extension to this methodology and are derived from attack trees and provide a means to allocate limited resources to defend against specific attacks. Protection trees are produced systematically by first developing an attack tree, computing metrics for each node of an attack, and developing a corresponding protection tree with similar metrics. In this paper, a generic Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) is implemented and attack and protection trees are used to analyze the security of this network.

AUTHORS

Kenneth Edge

Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
USA

Kenneth S. Edge is a PhD Candidate at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering fro the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado in 1993 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio in 1998. He is currently a Major in the United States Air Force and a student member of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), a member of Eta Kappa Nu, and a member of Tau Beta Pi. His research interests include computer security, information assurance, computer malware, and VLSI.

Richard Raines

Director, Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR);
Graduate School of Engineering and Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

Dr. Richard A. Raines is Director, Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR) and Department of Defense Transformation Chair, Graduate School of Engineering and Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The Florida State University in 1985, with honors. He earned a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering from AFIT in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1994.

Dr. Raines is the founding Director of CCR, a National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence and a National Science Foundation CyberCorp institution. He has authored or co-authored more than 90 technical publications in the areas of computer and satellite communications, communications theory, vulnerabilities of communication systems, and cyber security. Dr. Raines is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of Eta Kappa Nu.

Rusty Baldwin

Riverside Research, Cyber Center of Excellence, Beavercreek, OH
United States

Rusty O. Baldwin is an Associate Professor of Computer Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (cum laude) from New Mexico State University in 1987, a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1992, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1999. He served 23 years in the United States Air Force. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ohio, a member of Eta Kappa Nu, and a Senior Member of IEEE. His research interests include computer communication networks, embedded and wireless networking, computer security, information assurance, and reconfigurable computing systems.

Michael Grimaila

Department of Systems and Engineering Management, Air Force Institute of Technology& Wright-Patterson AFB, OH,
USA

Michael R. Grimaila (BSEE 1993; MSEE 1995; Ph.D. 1999, Texas A&M University) is a professor and the head of the Department of Systems Engineering and Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, U.S. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and the Association for Computing Machinery, and a Senior Member of the IEEE, as well as a Fellow of the Information System Security Association.