How to Implement Network Threats Analysis in NS2

To implement Network Threats Analysis in NS2 has needs to include to replicate the network threats such as DDoS attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, packet injection, etc. and evaluating their impact on network performance. The analysis can emphases on identifying these threats, evaluating their effects on network metrics such as delay, packet loss, throughput, and executing the prevention techniques.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to implementing Network Threats Analysis in NS2:

Step-by-Step Implementation:

  1. Set up NS2

Make sure NS2 is installed on the system. If not, we can install it using the following command:

sudo apt-get install ns2

  1. Define the Network Topology

Describe the simple network topology in NS2. We will mimic diverse threats on this network and measure the effect of those threats.

Example:

set ns [new Simulator]

set tracefile [open threat_analysis.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

# Create network nodes

set n1 [$ns node]   ;# Sender node

set n2 [$ns node]   ;# Receiver node

set nAttacker [$ns node]   ;# Attacker node

set nIDS [$ns node] ;# IDS (Intrusion Detection System) node

# Create links between nodes

$ns duplex-link $n1 $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $nAttacker $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $nIDS $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

  1. Simulate Normal Traffic

Configure the interaction among n1 and n2 to mimic normal network traffic. This will enable you to monitor the effect of numerious network threats on the communication.

Example:

# Set up UDP traffic between n1 and n2

set udp1 [new Agent/UDP]

set null1 [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n1 $udp1

$ns attach-agent $n2 $null1

$ns connect $udp1 $null1

# Create CBR (Constant Bit Rate) traffic generator

set cbr1 [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbr1 set packetSize_ 512

$cbr1 set rate_ 1Mb

$cbr1 attach-agent $udp1

# Start the normal traffic at 1 second

$ns at 1.0 “$cbr1 start”

  1. Simulate Network Threats

Next, we mimic different kinds of attacks that contain DDoS attacks, packet injection, man-in-the-middle attacks, etc. These threats will be created by the attacker node (nAttacker).

(A) DDoS Attack Simulation

A DDoS attack can be mimicked by created a large volume of traffic from the attacker node to overwhelm the network.

Example:

# Set up DDoS traffic from the attacker node

set udpAttacker [new Agent/UDP]

set cbrAttacker [new Application/Traffic/CBR]

$cbrAttacker set packetSize_ 512

$cbrAttacker set rate_ 10Mb ;# High rate to simulate DDoS attack

$cbrAttacker attach-agent $udpAttacker

# Connect attacker to the receiver node (n2)

$ns attach-agent $nAttacker $udpAttacker

$ns connect $udpAttacker $null1

# Start DDoS attack at 2 seconds

$ns at 2.0 “$cbrAttacker start”

(B) Packet Injection Attack Simulation

Packet injection replicates an attacker inserting unauthorized packets into the network. The malicious node (nAttacker) sends data to the receiver (n2) without authorization.

Example:

# Simulate packet injection attack

proc inject_packet {source dest size time} {

puts “Malicious packet injected from $source to $dest at $time”

}

# Start injecting packets at 3 seconds

$ns at 3.0 “inject_packet nAttacker n2 512 3.0”

(C) Man-in-the-Middle Attack Simulation

Mimic a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, in which the attacker interrupts communication among the sender and receiver. This can be designed by rerouting packets via the attacker node.

Example:

# Intercept traffic from n1 to n2 (MITM attack)

$ns at 3.5 “$ns duplex-link $n1 $nAttacker 1Mb 10ms DropTail”

$ns at 4.0 “$ns connect $udp1 $udpAttacker” ;# Intercept traffic

# Log the MITM attack

proc mitm_attack {source dest} {

puts “Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepting traffic between $source and $dest”

}

$ns at 4.0 “mitm_attack n1 n2”

  1. Implement Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be executed at the IDS node to observe network traffic and identify anomalies or threats based on patterns.

Example of IDS monitoring traffic:

# IDS traffic monitoring function

proc monitor_traffic {source dest size time} {

puts “IDS monitoring: Packet from $source to $dest, size=$size, time=$time”

# Check for abnormal traffic (e.g., DDoS, packet injection, MITM)

if { $size > 512 } {

puts “Possible DDoS attack detected!”

} elseif { $source == “nAttacker” } {

puts “Packet injection detected!”

}

}

# Capture and monitor traffic at the IDS node

$ns at 1.5 “monitor_traffic n1 n2 512 1.5”

$ns at 2.5 “monitor_traffic nAttacker n2 512 2.5”

  1. Analyze the Impact of Threats on Network Performance

Use the trace file (threat_analysis.tr) to measure the network performance during and after the attacks. The parameters is to evaluate that include:

  • Packet loss rate: Evaluate on how many packets are lost because of the attack.
  • Latency: Assess the increase in latency among packets.
  • Throughput: Extent how the attack affects the overall throughput of the network.

Example of Calculating Packet Loss:

We can estimate packet loss by comparing the number of packets sent and received in the trace file.

  1. Implement Mitigation Techniques

Once the IDS identify a threat, we can execute mitigation approaches like throttling traffic from the attacker, blocking the malicious node, or rerouting traffic.

(A) Traffic Throttling

Regulating limits the rate at which traffic can be sent from the malicious node.

Example:

# Function to throttle traffic

proc throttle_traffic {node new_rate} {

puts “Throttling traffic from $node to $new_rate”

$node set rate_ $new_rate

}

# Throttle the attacker’s traffic if a DDoS is detected

$ns at 2.5 “throttle_traffic $cbrAttacker 512kb”

(B) Blocking Malicious Nodes

Block the malicious node from sending further traffic.

Example:

# Function to block a node

proc block_node {node} {

puts “Blocking traffic from $node”

$ns detach-agent $node

}

# Block the attacker if an attack is detected

$ns at 3.5 “block_node $udpAttacker”

  1. Run the Simulation

Once Tcl script is ready, execute the simulation using the following command:

ns your_script.tcl

  1. Analyse Results

After executing the simulation, use the trace file (threat_analysis.tr) to measure on how the network threats affected the performance. We can use tools such as NAM (Network Animator) to envision the simulation and measure network behaviour in threat conditions.

Parameters to examine that contain:

  • Packet delivery ratio: The ratio of packets delivered successfully despite attacks.
  • Network delay: The increase in delay because of malicious traffic.
  • Network throughput: The impact of threats on throughput.
  1. Extend the Simulation

We can expand this simulation by:

  • Adding more attack types: Mimic other types of attacks such as spoofing, replay attacks, and flooding attacks.
  • Enhancing detection algorithms: Use more sophisticated techniques to identify attacks.
  • Testing mitigation techniques: validate with different prevention approaches, such as firewalls, traffic shaping, or intrusion prevention systems (IPS).
  • Analysing attack resilience: validate on how robust the network is to diverse threat levels and attack intensities.

In the end, we had explored the basic implementation process on how to execute the Network Threats Analysis that handles to identify the attacks in the network. If you need additional information regarding the Network Threats Analysis we will provide it too. Get your performance analysis done by our team we offer you tailored guidance with implementation support.