Fragmentation Attacks and Countermeasures on 6LoWPAN Internet of Things Networks: Survey and Simulation

Abstract

The Internet of things is a popular concept in the current digital revolution. Nowadays, devices worldwide can be connected to the Internet, enhancing their communication, capabilities, and intelligence. Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) was specifically designed to build wireless networks for IoT resource-constrained devices. However, 6LoWPAN is susceptible to several security attacks. The fragmentation mechanism, in particular, is vulnerable to various attacks due to the lack of fragment authentication and verification procedures in the adaptation layer. This article provides a survey of fragmentation attacks and available countermeasures. Furthermore, the buffer reservation attack, one of the most harmful fragmentation attacks that may cause DoS, is studied and simulated in detail. A countermeasure for this attack is also implemented based on a reputation-scoring scheme. Experiments showed the harmful effects of the buffer reservation attack and the effectiveness of the implemented reputation-scoring countermeasure.

Enabling Efficient Data Transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks-Based IoT Applications

“…This complexity often leads to an increased risk of misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and human errors, which can be exploited by cyber attackers [7]. Moreover, reducing overhead and complexity allows for quicker response times in the event of a security incident [8,9]. Simplified security measures enable security teams to identify and respond to threats more efficiently, reducing the time required for analysis, investigation, and remediation.…”