A survey on security challenges in the current MANET routing protocols

Wireless communication employs radio technology to facilitate data transmission without any fixed infrastructures. A mobile ad hoc network is an example of this data transmission technique, which comprises of devices such as smart phones, laptops and printers. Some of the key features of mobile ad hoc networks include self-creation, self-organization and also self-administration. Owing to the frequent mobility of the network nodes and the dynamic topology, mobile ad hoc networks are vulnerable to numerous security threats. For instance, the nodes are open and the links can be disconnected, leading to the degradation of network performance. To mitigate these problems, several protocols and techniques have been proposed in literature. This paper provides some detailed review of these protocols, as well as the discussion of other state of the art protocols that have been developed to cope with challenges of the legacy routing and security protocols.  These protocols were established to be either proactive or reactive. In addition, it has been noted that these protocols have some merits as well as challenges that may impede their applicability. Consequently, more efficient and secure routing protocols are required for optimal network performance. Therefore, some recommendations are given towards the end of this paper on some features that ideal routing and security protocol should have.