How to Begin Implement Ethical Hacking Project in NS3

To begin an Ethical Hacking project in NS3, it comprises of replicating a network to detect vulnerabilities, experiment intrusion detection and prevention strategies, and examine the effect of various attack mechanisms for implementation. We can follow step-by-step guidance on how we can approach it:

Steps to Begin Implementing Ethical Hacking Projects in NS3

1. Understand Ethical Hacking and Its Simulation Scope

Ethical hacking needs to experiment the network security for sensing and setting vulnerabilities. In NS3, we can:

• Replicate the real-world attack scenarios such as DoS, spoofing.
• Enhance and experiment the intrusion detection/prevention systems like IDS/IPS.
• Examine the performance of network in diverse attack situations.

2. Define Project Objectives

Focus on project’s goals of ethical hacking:

• Replicate certain kinds of attacks such as DoS, MITM, or packet sniffing.
• Measure the IDS/IPS solutions efficiency.
• During an attack, estimate the network performance indicators such as throughput, latency, and packet loss.

3. Install and Set Up NS3

• We should download and install NS3 on the system.
• Learn about the following modules:
  • Applications Module: It supports to replicate the typical and malicious traffic.
  • Internet Module: Used for IP-based interaction.
  • Network Security: Execute the custom logic for attack and defense situations.

4. Design the Network

Key Components:

1. Normal Nodes: Replicate legitimate user traffic.
2. Attacker Nodes: Mimic malicious activities.
3. Defender Nodes: Execute IDS/IPS or mitigation mechanisms.
4. Metrics: During the attack, compute the performance parameters such as throughput, packet loss, and latency.

5. Implement the Simulation

Step A: Create Nodes

We want to make nodes for typcial users, attackers, and defenders.

NodeContainer normalNodes, attackerNodes, defenderNodes;

normalNodes.Create(5);  // 5 legitimate users

attackerNodes.Create(1); // 1 attacker

defenderNodes.Create(1); // 1 defender (IDS/IPS)

Step B: Configure Links

For connectivity, we can utilize Point-to-Point links.

PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;

pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices;

devices.Add(pointToPoint.Install(normalNodes.Get(0), defenderNodes.Get(0)));

devices.Add(pointToPoint.Install(attackerNodes.Get(0), defenderNodes.Get(0)));

Step C: Install Internet Stack

Install the Internet stack at every node.

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install(normalNodes);

stack.Install(attackerNodes);

stack.Install(defenderNodes);

Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;

ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

ipv4.Assign(devices);

Step D: Add Traffic Applications

1. Normal Traffic:
   • Replicate the legitimate traffic with the support of OnOffApplication.

OnOffHelper onOff(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.2”), 9));

onOff.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“500Kbps”));

onOff.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(512));

ApplicationContainer normalTraffic = onOff.Install(normalNodes.Get(0));

normalTraffic.Start(Seconds(1.0));

normalTraffic.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

1. Malicious Traffic (Attack Simulation):
   • Mimic a DoS attack to leverage high-rate UDP packets.

OnOffHelper attackerOnOff(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.2”), 9));

attackerOnOff.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”)); // Flood the target

attackerOnOff.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));

ApplicationContainer attackTraffic = attackerOnOff.Install(attackerNodes.Get(0));

attackTraffic.Start(Seconds(2.0)); // Start attack at 2 seconds

attackTraffic.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

1. Defense Mechanism (IDS/IPS):
   • Execute a custom application to identify and moderate the attack.

class IDSApplication : public Application {

// Add logic to monitor and mitigate malicious traffic.

};

6. Configure Simulation

Configure the simulation time and then run the simulation in NS3.

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(15.0));

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

7. Evaluate Performance

1. Metrics to Analyze:
   • Throughput: Estimate the legitimate traffic to attain the server.
   • Packet Loss: Detect packets which are lost by reason of the attack.
   • Detection Rate: Estimate the IDS/IPS efficiency in detecting malicious traffic.
2. Export Results:
   • Gather performance parameters to utilize logging or custom scripts for detailed analysis.
3. Visualization:
   • Make use of NetAnim for envisioning packet flows.
   • Transfer data into external tools such as Python or MATLAB for analysis.

8. Advanced Features

1. Types of Attacks:
   • Mimic more attacks such as MITM, IP spoofing, or ARP poisoning.
2. Distributed Attack Scenarios:
   • We need to utilize numerous attacker nodes to replicate DDoS attacks.
3. Machine Learning for Detection:
   • Execute machine learning-based IDS/IPS by transferring traffic data to train models for detection.
4. Traffic Prioritization:
   • Execute the QoS strategies to give precedence for legitimate traffic through malicious traffic.

Sample Complete Code Framework

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

int main() {

// Create Nodes

NodeContainer normalNodes, attackerNodes, defenderNodes;

normalNodes.Create(5);

attackerNodes.Create(1);

defenderNodes.Create(1);

// Configure Links

PointToPointHelper pointToPoint;

pointToPoint.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

pointToPoint.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));

NetDeviceContainer devices;

devices.Add(pointToPoint.Install(normalNodes.Get(0), defenderNodes.Get(0)));

devices.Add(pointToPoint.Install(attackerNodes.Get(0), defenderNodes.Get(0)));

// Install Internet Stack

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install(normalNodes);

stack.Install(attackerNodes);

stack.Install(defenderNodes);

Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;

ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

ipv4.Assign(devices);

// Normal Traffic

OnOffHelper onOff(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.2”), 9));

onOff.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“500Kbps”));

onOff.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(512));

ApplicationContainer normalTraffic = onOff.Install(normalNodes.Get(0));

normalTraffic.Start(Seconds(1.0));

normalTraffic.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Malicious Traffic

OnOffHelper attackerOnOff(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.2”), 9));

attackerOnOff.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

attackerOnOff.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));

ApplicationContainer attackTraffic = attackerOnOff.Install(attackerNodes.Get(0));

attackTraffic.Start(Seconds(2.0));

attackTraffic.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

// Run Simulation

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(15.0));

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

By referring this detailed process, we grasped the key concept with sample coding of Ethical Hacking Projects which were implemented and analyzed utilising NS3 tools. We will also provide more specifies regarding this subject that helps you extend the project further.