Abstract
In the last decade, mobile ad hoc network (MANETs) have emerged as a major next generation wireless networking technology. However, MANETs are vulnerable to various attacks at all layers, including in particular the network layer, because the design of most MANET routing protocols assumes that there is no malicious intruder node in the network. In this paper, we present a survey of the main types of attack at the network layer, and we then review intrusion detection and protection mechanisms that have been proposed in the literature. We classify these mechanisms as either point detection algorithms that deal with a single type of attack, or as intrusion detection systems (IDSs) that can deal with a range of attacks. A comparison of the proposed protection mechanisms is also included in this paper. Finally, we identify areas where further research could focus.