To simulate a Hello Flood Attack within OMNeT++, which contains making a network in which a malicious node transmits a large amount of hello messages (broadcast messages) to its neighbouring nodes, falsely claiming to have the shortest path or finest signal. This attack is especially effective in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) or mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), in which nodes according to the broadcasting hello messages to ascertain connections.
A Hello Flood Attack can trigger nodes to believe they are directly associated to the attacker and try to transmit their data via it, leading to disrupted communication or energy depletion.
Key Components for a Hello Flood Attack Simulation:
- Legitimate Nodes: Wireless sensor nodes (e.g., in a WSN or MANET), which communicate using routing protocols according to the hello messages.
- Malicious Node: The attacker, which transmits out excessive or false hello messages to mislead other nodes.
- Routing Protocol: The routing mechanism utilized by legitimate nodes that often depends on hello messages for neighbour discovery (e.g., AODV, LEACH, and OLSR).
- Hello Messages: The broadcast messages utilized by nodes to report to neighbours of their existence or quality of connection.
Step-by-Step Guide to Simulate Hello Flood Attack Using OMNeT++:
- Install OMNeT++ and INET Framework
- We can download and install OMNeT++ from here.
- Download and install the INET framework from INET GitHub repository. INET framework supports wireless communication protocols and routing algorithms that are key for mimicking a Hello Flood attack.
- Understand the Hello Flood Attack
In a Hello Flood attack:
- The attacker transmits several hello messages to neighbouring nodes, making the illusion, which it has a high-quality route to the destination.
- Neighbouring nodes consider the attacker is a legitimate node and try to transmit traffic via it.
- It triggers inefficient routing, minimized delays, and wasted resources (e.g., battery power in sensor networks).
- Set Up Wireless Network Topology in NED
Describe a wireless sensor network (WSN) or ad hoc network with several legitimate nodes and an attacker node.
Example NED File for Hello Flood Attack Simulation:
network HelloFloodAttackNetwork {
submodules:
attacker: WirelessHost {
@display(“p=100,100”);
}
node[10]: WirelessHost { // 10 legitimate wireless nodes
@display(“p=” + (150 + index * 50) + “,200”);
}
baseStation: WirelessHost {
@display(“p=500,200”);
}
connections allowunconnected:
for i=0..9 {
node[i].wlan++ <–> attacker.wlan++;
node[i].wlan++ <–> baseStation.wlan++;
}
}
Explanation:
- Attacker: The malicious node, which executes the Hello Flood attack.
- Nodes: Legitimate wireless sensor or mobile nodes, which communicate with the base station.
- BaseStation: A central point in which nodes are transmit data, like in a WSN or MANET.
- Configure Routing Protocols
We can set up the routing protocols for legitimate nodes, like AODV (Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector), LEACH (Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy), or OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing). The attacker will use these protocols by transmitting several or fake hello messages.
Example omnetpp.ini Configuration for Legitimate Routing:
[General]
network = HelloFloodAttackNetwork
sim-time-limit = 100s
# Enable AODV routing on the nodes
**.node[*].hasRouter = true
**.node[*].routingProtocol = “AODV” # AODV protocol for route discovery
**.baseStation.hasRouter = true
**.baseStation.routingProtocol = “AODV”
# Configure legitimate communication
**.node[*].numApps = 1
**.node[*].app[0].typename = “UdpBasicApp” # Nodes send UDP traffic
**.node[*].app[0].destAddresses = “baseStation” # All nodes send traffic to the base station
**.node[*].app[0].destPort = 5000
**.node[*].app[0].sendInterval = uniform(2s, 5s)
**.node[*].app[0].messageLength = 512B
- Implement Hello Flood Attack
The attacker will be transmitted a large amount of hello messages to neighbouring nodes, making the illusion of being the finest route.
Example C++ Code for HelloFloodApp (Hello Flood Attack Application):
#include “inet/applications/base/ApplicationBase.h”
#include “inet/networklayer/common/L3AddressResolver.h”
#include “inet/common/packet/Packet.h”
#include “inet/routing/extras/aodv/AODVRouteData_m.h”
class HelloFloodApp : public inet::ApplicationBase {
protected:
virtual void initialize(int stage) override;
virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;
virtual void floodHelloMessages();
public:
HelloFloodApp() {}
virtual ~HelloFloodApp() {}
};
Define_Module(HelloFloodApp);
void HelloFloodApp::initialize(int stage) {
if (stage == inet::INITSTAGE_APPLICATION_LAYER) {
// Start the hello message flood after 1 second
scheduleAt(simTime() + 1.0, new cMessage(“startFlood”));
}
}
void HelloFloodApp::handleMessage(cMessage *msg) {
if (strcmp(msg->getName(), “startFlood”) == 0) {
floodHelloMessages();
}
delete msg;
}
void HelloFloodApp::floodHelloMessages() {
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { // Send 100 hello messages
inet::Packet *helloPacket = new inet::Packet(“HelloMessage”);
// Create a fake AODV hello message
auto hello = inet::makeShared<inet::aodv::AODVRouteData>();
hello->setIsHello(true);
hello->setDestAddr(inet::Ipv4Address(“255.255.255.255”)); // Broadcast address
hello->setHopCount(1); // Minimal hop count to seem attractive
hello->setDestSeqNum(i); // Random sequence number to keep messages fresh
helloPacket->insertAtFront(hello);
send(helloPacket, “out”); // Send the hello message to neighbors
}
}
In this code:
- HelloFloodApp transmits numerous fake hello messages using the AODV protocol, broadcasting them to all neighbouring nodes.
- The hop count and sequence numbers in the hello messages are used to create the attacker seem such as the optimal route.
- Configure the Attacker Node
In the omnetpp.ini file set up the attacker node to run the HelloFloodApp and flood the network with hello messages.
# Attacker configuration for sending Hello Flood attack
**.attacker.numApps = 1
**.attacker.app[0].typename = “HelloFloodApp”
This configuration make certain that the attacker node continuously transmits fake hello messages to disrupt the network.
- Monitor and Capture Traffic
Allow packet capture to monitor the attack and observe its influence on the network using Wireshark or OMNeT++’s built-in analysis tools.
Enable Packet Capture in omnetpp.ini:
# Enable packet capture to analyze Hello Flood attack
**.pcapRecorder.enable = true
**.pcapRecorder.packetFilter = “all”
**.pcapRecorder.file = “output/hello_flood_attack.pcap”
It will generate a .pcap file, which we can open in Wireshark to investigate how the hello messages influence the network.
- Run the Simulation
We can run the simulation in OMNeT++ to monitor how the attacker floods the network with hello messages and how the legitimate nodes are react to the attack.
- Analyze Results
After running the simulation, we investigate the following significant parameters:
- Route changes: How frequently do legitimate nodes switch to using the attacker as their next hop?
- Packet loss: Estimate how many legitimate data packets are dropped because of inefficient routing via the attacker.
- Energy consumption: Investigate how much extra energy the legitimate nodes are use because of the extra communication triggered by the attack.
- Throughput: Find out how much the attack degrades network throughput.
- Extend the Simulation
We can expand the Hello Flood attack simulation by inserting more furthered behaviours:
- Defensive Mechanisms: Execute defenses versus Hello Flood attacks, like neighbour validation, secure routing protocols, or limiting the amount of hello messages a node accepts.
- Energy Efficiency Analysis: Replicate the effect of Hello Flood attacks on energy consumption in wireless sensor networks (WSNs).
- Attack Variants: Discover variants of the Hello Flood attack, like selective flooding (targeting specific nodes) or multi-hop flooding (where the attacker floods nodes across multiple hops).
Example Projects for Hello Flood Attack Simulation:
- Basic Hello Flood Attack: Mimic a basic Hello Flood attack in which the attacker transmits fake hello messages to disrupt routing and cause packet loss.
- Energy Drain Attack: Replicate a Hello Flood attack in a wireless sensor network to calculate the influence on the energy consumption of the legitimate nodes.
- Detection and Mitigation of Hello Flood Attacks: Execute and experiment methods for identifying and mitigating Hello Flood attacks within a wireless ad hoc network.
- Network Performance under Hello Flood Attack: Examine how the network performance (latency, throughput, and packet delivery ratio) degrades in the course of a Hello Flood attack.
Through this projects, we explicated the key components and simulation steps with sample snippets to simulate and examine the Hello Flood Attack Projects utilizing OMNeT++ and INET framework. We will be shared further data on this projects, if required.So drop to phdprime.com all your project details we will give you best thesis topic updation along with simulation results.
