How to implement active attacks in OMNeT++

To implement the active attacks in OMNeT++ needs to encompass simulating situations where an attacker are not only monitors or intercepts interactions. But it enthusiastically manipulates, alters the flow of data or disrupts in a network. Range of malicious activates, like Denial of Service (DoS), spoofing, packet injection, man-in-the-middle attacks are involved by active attacks.

Given below is a step-by-step process to implement various types of active attacks in OMNeT++ using the INET framework.

Step-by-Step Implementations:

Set up OMNeT++ and INET Framework

Make sure that OMNeT++ and the INET framework are installed and correctly configured. The INET framework offers modules for simulating many network protocols, which we can extend to model various types of active attacks.

Define the Network Topology

Make a network topology in a .ned file that contains legitimate network nodes like clients, servers, routers and an attacker node that will execute the active attack.

Example:

network ActiveAttackNetwork

{

submodules:

client: StandardHost;

server: StandardHost;

router: Router;

attacker: StandardHost;

connections:

client.ethg++ <–> Eth10G <–> router.ethg++;

attacker.ethg++ <–> Eth10G <–> router.ethg++;

router.ethg++ <–> Eth10G <–> server.ethg++;

}

The attacker node is associated to the network and will do malicious activities targeting the server or client.

Implement Different Types of Active Attacks
Denial of Service (DoS) Attack

Objective: Overcome a server or network with a flood of requests, making it unobtainable to legitimate users.
Implementation: Form the attacker node to send a huge number of requests to the server in a short period.

Example configuration:

*.attacker.numApps = 1

*.attacker.app[0].typename = “UdpBasicApp”

*.attacker.app[0].destAddr = “server”

*.attacker.app[0].localPort = 5000

*.attacker.app[0].messageLength = 1024B

*.attacker.app[0].sendInterval = 0.01s # High frequency to simulate a flood

The attacker sends a flood of UDP packets to the server, mimicking a DoS attack.

Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attack

Objective: Intercept and probably alter communication without their knowledge among two parties.
Implementation: Set up an attacker node that intercepts packets possibly modifying or logging them between the client and server.

Example implementation:

class MitMAttack : public cSimpleModule

{

protected:

virtual void initialize() override;

virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;

};

void MitMAttack::initialize()

{

// No initialization needed

}

void MitMAttack::handleMessage(cMessage *msg)

{

cPacket *pkt = check_and_cast<cPacket *>(msg);

EV << “Intercepted packet: ” << pkt->getFullName() << ” of size ” << pkt->getByteLength() << ” bytes.\n”;

// Optionally modify the packet

// send(pkt, “out”); // Forward the packet after logging or modification

}

Define_Module(MitMAttack);

Before forwarding the MitMAttack module takes packets passing over the attacker and logs or modifies them.

Packet Injection Attack

Objective: Inject malicious or false packets into the network to disturb communication, exploit vulnerabilities or spread misinformation.
Implementation: Configure the attacker node to make and send packets that arrive to be from a legitimate source.

Example implementation:

class PacketInjection : public cSimpleModule

{

protected:

virtual void initialize() override;

virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;

void injectPacket();

};

void PacketInjection::initialize()

{

// Schedule the first packet injection event

scheduleAt(simTime() + par(“startTime”), new cMessage(“inject”));

}

void PacketInjection::handleMessage(cMessage *msg)

{

if (msg->isSelfMessage()) {

injectPacket();

scheduleAt(simTime() + par(“interval”), msg); // Re-schedule the next injection

} else {

delete msg;

}

void PacketInjection::injectPacket()

{

// Create and send a packet

auto packet = new cPacket(“InjectedPacket”);

packet->setByteLength(par(“packetSize”));

// Set packet destination, etc.

send(packet, “out”);

}

Define_Module(PacketInjection);

Simulate the injection of malicious data to the PacketInjection module makes and sends packets into the network.

Spoofing Attack

Objective: Mimic other device by sending packets including a forged MAC address or IP address.
Implementation: On the network to configure the attacker node to send packets with a MAC address that simulators a legitimate device.

Example configuration:

*.attacker.mac.address = “00:11:22:33:44:55” // Spoofed MAC address

*.attacker.app[0].typename = “UdpBasicApp”

*.attacker.app[0].destAddr = “client”

*.attacker.app[0].localPort = 5000

*.attacker.app[0].messageLength = 128B

*.attacker.app[0].sendInterval = exponential(1s)

The attacker sends packets to the client whereas spoofing the MAC address of other legitimate device.

Run the Simulation

Compile and run the OMNeT++ simulation. The attacker node will implement the configured active attack on the network.

Analyse the Results

To monitor the impression of the active attack on the network by using OMNeT++’s built-in tools. Focus on metrics like server response times, packet loss, communication delays, network throughput, and the victory or disappointment of the attack.
Note that how the attack affects the communication among the legitimate nodes and whether it leads to disruptions, data corruption, or other malicious outcomes.

Enhancements and Variations

Combination of Attacks: Simulate numerous types of active attacks concurrently to study their combined impact on the network.
Defensive Mechanisms: Execute and test network defences like firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), encryption, or rate limiting, and note their effectiveness against the attacks.
Simulation of Real-World Scenarios: Model specific real-world attack scenarios, like coordinated attack in a high-traffic event, to learn the network’s resilience.

Example Files

We can create the following files as part of the simulation:

ActiveAttackNetwork.ned: Describes the network topology.
omnetpp.ini: Encompasses configuration settings for the active attacks.
PacketInjection.cc: If we choose to make one then custom C++ code for the packet injection attack module.

Overall, we had demonstrate that to implement different types of active attacks, improvements and variations and some examples in OMNeT++. We will provide in-depth informations about Active Attacks in other tools.

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