How to implement passive attacks in OMNeT++

To implement the passive attacks in OMNeT++ has needs to generate a scenario where an attacker node passively eavesdrops to the network traffic among other nodes without actively injecting or modifying packets and the passive attacks in a network is defined as to eavesdropping or monitoring the interaction without modifying the information.

The given below are the detailed procedures on how to implement the passive attacks in OMNeT++:

Step-by-Step Implementation:

1. Set up OMNeT++ and INET Framework

• Make sure that OMNeT++ and the INET framework are installed and configured on system. The INET framework has include essential modules for emulating the  network protocols and can be extended to contain passive monitoring.

2. Define the Network Topology

• Generate a network topology in a .ned file that contains the nodes involved in interaction and the attacker node that will be eavesdropping on the network traffic.

Example:

network PassiveAttackNetwork

{

submodules:

client: StandardHost;

server: StandardHost;

router: Router;

passiveAttacker: StandardHost;

connections:

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

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

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

}

• In this topology, the passiveAttacker node is interlinked to the network and can monitor traffic among the client and server.

3. Configure the Attacker Node for Passive Monitoring

• The attacker node should be configured to eavesdrop to all traffic on the network without sending any packets. We need to attain this by generating a custom module that logs or measures the packets passing via the network.

Option A: Using INET’s Built-In Sniffing Capabilities

• The INET framework contains simple sniffing capabilities that permit a node to observe and assess the packets.

Example configuration in omnetpp.ini:

*.passiveAttacker.interfaceTable.interfaces[0].promiscuous = true

*.passiveAttacker.numApps = 1

*.passiveAttacker.app[0].typename = “PacketMonitorApp”

*.passiveAttacker.app[0].filter = “*”

• Setting the promiscuous mode to true permits the attacker node to monitor all packets on the network, not just those addressed to it.

Option B: Creating a Custom Packet Sniffing Module

• We need to generate a custom module that logs or processes packets as they are received by the attacker node.

Example C++ code for a custom packet sniffing module:

class PacketSniffer : public cSimpleModule

{

protected:

virtual void initialize() override;

virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;

};

void PacketSniffer::initialize()

{

// Nothing to schedule, just wait for packets

}

void PacketSniffer::handleMessage(cMessage *msg)

{

// Cast to a packet and process

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

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

// Process packet here (e.g., log data, analyze content)

delete pkt;  // Discard the packet after processing

}

Define_Module(PacketSniffer);

• This module listens for incoming packets and logs them or achieves further analysis.

4. Configure the Communication Nodes

• The client and server nodes should be configured to interact normally over the network. The attacker will passively monitor this communication.

Example:

*.client.numApps = 1

*.client.app[0].typename = “TcpBasicClientApp”

*.client.app[0].connectAddress = “server”

*.client.app[0].connectPort = 80

*.server.numApps = 1

*.server.app[0].typename = “TcpServerApp”

• This configuration sets up a basic TCP communication among the client and server.

5. Run the Simulation

• Compile and run OMNeT++ simulation. The attacker node will initiate capturing and logging network traffic as configured.

6. Analyze the Results

• Review the logs or output from the attacker node to evaluate the captured traffic. This can contains to checking packet contents, traffic patterns, or even reconstructing messages.
• We need to use OMNeT++’s built-in tools to visualize the captured data.

7. Enhancements and Variations

• Advanced Analysis: Extend the sniffer module to achieve more advanced analysis, like filtering the particular kinds of traffic, extracting sensitive information, or verifying the particular protocols.
• Multiple Attackers: To mimic the multiple passive attackers located in diverse parts of the network to monitor their combined impact.
• Detection: To execute detection mechanisms in other nodes to classify when an attacker is passively monitoring traffic.

Example Files

We need to generate the following files as part of simulation:

• PassiveAttackNetwork.ned: Describes the network topology.
• omnetpp.ini: Contains configuration settings for passive monitoring.
• PacketSniffer.cc: Custom C++ code for the packet sniffing module, if you choose to create one.

Here, we all learn and understood how the passive attacks will implement and perform in OMNeT++ simulator tool. If you have doubts regarding the passive attacks, we will provide that too.

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