How to Implement Traffic Analysis Attack in NS2

 

To implement a traffic analysis attack in Network Simulator 2 (NS2) has encompasses to mimic the monitoring and analysis of network traffic to infer information about the interaction patterns among the nodes. In such an attack, the adversary (a malicious node or a set of nodes) does not essentially need to decode the packets nevertheless rather than collects the information from traffic patterns, packet size, timing, and routing behaviour is to deduce meaningful information. This attack can be implemented in scenarios like wireless ad hoc networks or wired networks, in which an attacker attempts to infer information about the network topology, active nodes, or data flows. The given below is the implementation process to implement the traffic analysis in ns2:

Steps to Implement Traffic Analysis Attack in NS2

  1. Setting up the Network Topology

We need to generate a network topology in which multiple nodes interact with each other, and one or more malicious nodes act as traffic analysers. These malicious nodes observe the traffic to collect insights.

  1. Simulating the Traffic

Mimic normal traffic using UDP, TCP, or CBR (Constant Bit Rate) applications among nodes and the malicious node will track this traffic and collects data about the volume, frequency, and patterns of packets being routed.

  1. Simulating the Attack (Traffic Monitoring)

To execute the traffic analysis attack, the malicious node can act as a passive observer or a router that logs traffic statistics, such as:

  • Packet size
  • Transmission intervals
  • Source and destination information
  • Frequency of packets
  • Traffic routes

Example TCL Script for Traffic Analysis Attack

The given below is sample TCL script that mimics a traffic analysis attack in a network in which a malicious node observes traffic among two other nodes:

# Create a new simulator instance

set ns [new Simulator]

# Open trace and nam files

set tracefile [open “traffic_analysis_trace.tr” w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

set namfile [open “traffic_analysis.nam” w]

$ns namtrace-all-wireless $namfile

# Define the network topology

set n0 [$ns node]  ;# Normal node (sender)

set n1 [$ns node]  ;# Normal node (receiver)

set n2 [$ns node]  ;# Malicious node (traffic analyzer)

# Create a UDP connection between n0 and n1 (normal traffic)

set udp0 [new Agent/UDP]

set null0 [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $udp0

$ns attach-agent $n1 $null0

$ns connect $udp0 $null0

# Create a CBR application to generate traffic

set cbr0 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr0 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr0 set rate_ 1Mb

$cbr0 attach-agent $udp0

# Create a procedure for the malicious node to perform traffic analysis

proc monitor_traffic { src dst analyzer } {

global ns

# Monitor traffic by examining packet transmissions

set monitored_packets 0

# Simulate malicious node listening on the network

$ns at 1.0 “$analyzer listen”

puts “Traffic analysis attack started by node $analyzer”

# Assume the malicious node logs traffic at specific intervals

for {set time 1.0} {$time <= 5.0} {set time [expr $time + 1.0]} {

set pkts [$ns monitor-traffic $src $dst]

incr monitored_packets $pkts

puts “Node $analyzer observed $pkts packets between $src and $dst at time $time”

}

# End traffic analysis

$ns at 6.0 “finish_traffic_analysis $analyzer”

}

# Start the traffic generation

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr0 start”

$ns at 5.0 “$cbr0 stop”

# Schedule traffic monitoring by the malicious node (traffic analysis attack)

$ns at 1.5 “monitor_traffic $n0 $n1 $n2”

# Define finish procedure

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile namfile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

close $namfile

exec nam traffic_analysis.nam &

exit 0

}

# End the simulation at 7.0 seconds

$ns at 7.0 “finish”

# Run the simulation

$ns run

Explanation of the Script:

  1. Normal Traffic (UDP and CBR):
    • Node n0 and n1 are regular nodes communicating using UDP and a CBR application that makes traffic.
    • The CBR application sends packets from n0 to n1 starting at time 1.0 seconds and stopping at time 5.0 seconds.
  2. Malicious Node (n2):
    • Node n2 is the malicious node that observes traffic among nodes n0 and n1. This node is passively tracking the network to collect traffic data like the number of packets transmitted and packet sizes.
    • The monitor_traffic procedure is intended to mimic the traffic analysis by occasionally logging how many packets are monitored among the two nodes.
  3. Logging Traffic Information:
    • The malicious node logs traffic at particular intervals (every 1 second, from 1.5 to 5.0 seconds) to mimic the traffic analysis.
    • The number of packets track among the n0 and n1 is printed as the output (this can be logged to a file for further evaluation).
  4. Trace Files and NAM Visualization:
    • The traffic and the monitoring behaviour are recorded in the trace file (traffic_analysis_trace.tr), and we can use NAM to visualize the network and traffic flows.
  1. Customizing the Traffic Analysis Attack

We can expand the above execution to mimic more sophisticated traffic analysis attacks by adding the following features:

  1. a) Advanced Monitoring Techniques:
  • Packet Size Monitoring: Observe the size of packets to infer the type of traffic such as distinguishing among video, voice, and data.
  • Timing Analysis: Infer communication patterns by evaluating the packet inter-arrival times and transmission intervals.
  1. b) Active Attacks:
  • Traffic Injection: The malicious node can inject its own traffic to confuse or disturb normal communication that mimics an active attack on the network.
  • Traffic Redirection: The malicious node could attempt to retransmit traffic through itself (man-in-the-middle attack), changing the flow of packets for further evaluation.
  1. c) Multiple Malicious Nodes:
  • We need to add more than one malicious node to evaluate on how traffic behaves via diverse sections of the network. These nodes can collaborate to collect more comprehensive information about the network.
  1. Analysing the Traffic Patterns

We can use the trace file to evaluate the traffic patterns and extract semantic insights about the communication among nodes. For instance, by parsing the trace file, we can observe:

  • Packet transmission intervals: How frequently packets are being sent.
  • Source and destination information: Infer the communication paths and active nodes.
  • Traffic volume: Evaluation on how much data is being routed among nodes.

We can compose parsing scripts (in AWK, Python, or Perl) to assess the trace file and extract the essential parameters for traffic analysis.

From this page, we had known how the traffic analysis attack analyse the interaction pattern among the nodes that were implemented in the ns2 tool. More information regarding the traffic analysis attack also provided.

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