Simulating Denial of Service Attack Using WiMAX Experimental Setup

The IEEE802.16 Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) is set to revolutionize the delivery of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) not unlike how the IEEE802.11 WiFi standard popularized wireless access to the masses. Designed to operate over distances as large as 50km at speeds of up to 74Mbps, it will serve many users in both fixed and mobile environments. In order to manage the system, the standard describes a set of Medium Access Controls (MAC) and air interfaces that cover a broad range of applications. This paper presents a study on IEEE802.16’s MAC operation, particularly the Ranging Response (RNG-RSP) message and its vulnerabilities to DoS attacks. We have tested several aspects of how the RNG-RSP message can be exploited on a live IEEE802.16e network to ascertain the impact of such DoS attacks on WiMAX systems.