A Review of Artificial Immune System Based Security Frameworks for MANET

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are collections of wireless mobile devices that form a communication network with restricted broadcast range, limited resources and without fixed infrastructure. Routing is a critical function in multi-hop MANETs. At the same time, security in MANETs— especially routing security—presents a number of new and interesting challenges. Communication is achieved by relaying data along routes that are dynamically discovered and maintained through collaboration between the nodes. Advances in the field of artificial immune systems provide an opportunity to improve MANET security and performance. Artificial immune systems mimic the functionality of the human immune system wherein there is clear distinction between self and non self and this delineation is important in a MANET where there is no centralized management. The high level of protection provided to the human body by an evolved immune system can be applied as a security feature in MANET. The current security techniques proposed for MANET have varying degrees of success due to the dynamic nature of a MANET. This paper will review different strategies for the application of artificial immune systems to MANETs.