EAURP: An energy-efficient and trust-aware unobservable routing protocol for secure mobile Ad Hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc wireless networks (MANETs) are decentralized, lacking fixed infrastructure, which enables dynamic and flexible communication between mobile nodes. However, these networks face challenges such as limited energy resources, frequent topology changes, and performance degradation caused by node misbehavior. Existing protocols like AODV have significant limitations, including a lack of energy awareness, an inability to detect malicious behavior, and the absence of secure transmission mechanisms. These weaknesses lead to rapid energy depletion and increased vulnerability to attacks. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel energy-aware unobservable routing protocol. The new protocol introduces custom packet types, such as PT_NID, PT_GID, and PT_CREV, to monitor the real-time behavior of neighboring nodes and to manage route revocation. Trust evaluation is performed using packet-forwarding ratios, and false positives are detected. Additionally, the protocol checks each node's residual energy before forwarding data to the next node. To ensure data confidentiality, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is employed, providing robust encryption while reducing resource consumption. ECC is particularly beneficial for MANET devices with limited resources, as it offers strong security with lower overhead. Simulations conducted using NS2 software demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the traditional AODV protocol in terms of network lifetime, packet delivery ratio, throughput, and delay, particularly under conditions of node mobility and varying node density. Overall, the proposed protocol offers a more robust, scalable, and secure solution for MANET environments compared to existing protocols.