Danger Is Ubiquitous: Detecting Malicious Activities in Sensor Networks Using the Dendritic Cell Algorithm

Abstract

There is a list of unique immune features that are currently absent from the existing artificial immune systems and other intelligent paradigms. We argue that some of AIS features can be inherent in an application itself, and thus this type of application would be a more appropriate substrate in which to develop and integrate the benefits brought by AIS. We claim here that sensor networks are such an application area, in which the ideas from AIS can be readily applied. The objective of this paper is to illustrate how closely a Danger Theory based AIS - in particular the Dendritic Cell Algorithm matches the structure and functional requirements of sensor networks. This paper also introduces a new sensor network attack called an Interest Cache Poisoning Attack and discusses how the DCA can be applied to detect this attack.