Simulating RPL Attacks in 6lowpan for Detection Purposes

The Internet of Things (IoT) integrates the Internet and electronic devices belonging to different domains, such as smart home automation, industrial processes, military applications, health, and environmental monitoring. Usually, IoT devices have limited resources and Low Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs) are being used to interconnect such devices. Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is one of the preferred routing protocols for this type of network, since it was specially developed for LLNs, also known as IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN). In this paper the most well-known routing attacks against 6LoWPAN networks were studied and implemented through simulation, conducting a behavioral analysis of network components (resources, topology, and data traffic) under attack condition. In order to achieve a better understanding on how attacks in 6LoWPAN work, we first conducted a study on 6LoWPAN networks and RPL protocol functioning. Furthermore, we also studied a series of well-known routing attacks against this type of Wireless Sensor Networks and these attacks were then simulated using Cooja simulator provided by Contiki operating system. The results obtained after the simulations are discussed along with other previous researches. This analysis may be of real interest when it comes to identify indicators of compromise for each type of attack and appropriate countermeasures for prevention and detection of these attacks.