Intrinsically Assurable Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking (IAMANET)

The objective of this program is to develop an intrinsically assurable mobile ad-hoc network (IAMANET). An intrinsically assurable mobile ad-hoc network will directly support integrity, availability, reliability, confidentiality, and safety of mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) communications and data. In contrast, the dominant Internet paradigm is intrinsically insecure. For example, the Internet does not deny unauthorized traffic by default and therefore violates the principle of least privilege. In addition, there are no provisions for non-repudiation or accountability and therefore adversaries can probe for vulnerabilities with impunity because the likelihood of attributing bad behavior to an adversary is limited. Finally (although not exhaustively) existing protocols are not robust to Byzantine failures and malicious behavior, leaving entire Internet-based systems vulnerable in the case of defensive failure. The broad objectives of the IAMANET Program are to address these Internet-paradigm problems and related challenges such as: increasing the probability that bad behavior will be detected; increasing work factor and uncertainty for an adversary; and explicitly identifying a minimal set of critical components that must be evaluated and protected from life cycle attacks. Even though the program is initially focused on MANETs, substantial elements of the proposed solutions are expected to have application in the wider Global Information Grid (GIG) and will address many of the design criteria of the original DARPA Internet.