Some of the same features that make MANETs attractive, such as mobility and self-organization, also lead to increased vulnerability to traffic analysis. Data on who is communicating with whom, how often, how much, and when is easily available to any eavesdropper within range of the wireless network. Even if the payload is encrypted, standard MANET protocols transmit enough header and routing information in the clear making traffic analysis relatively easy for attackers. But users of MANETs may want to resist traffic analysis for a variety of reasons, ranging from secrecy for government and industry to simple personal privacy for individuals. Traffic analysis is a threat to secure communication, either by identifying targets for attacks such as denial-of-service or encryption cracking, or by revealing communication relationships.
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