Toward the development of secure underwater acoustic networks

Abstract

Underwater acoustic networks (UANs) have been recognized as an enabling technology for various applications in the maritime domain. The wireless nature of the acoustic medium makes UANs vulnerable to various malicious attacks; yet, limited consideration has been given to security challenges. In this paper, we outline a hybrid architecture that incorporates aspects of physical layer security, software defined networking, node cooperation, cross-layering, context-awareness, and cognition. The proposed architecture envisions strategies at the node as well as at the network level that adapt to environmental changes, the status of the network and the possible array of attacks. Several examples of attacks and countermeasures are discussed while deployment and functionality issues of the proposed architecture are taken into consideration. This work is not intended to represent a whatsoever proven solution but mainly to suggest future research directions to the scientific community working in the area of UANs.