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Lightweight Novel Approach for Collaborative Packet-Based Mitigation of Blackhole Attacks in RPL-Based IoT

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Abstract

In RPL-based IoT networks, especially at the edge where devices are highly constrained, security challenges are increasingly prominent. The core functionality of RPL does not inherently include mechanisms to detect or mitigate security attacks. Simulations demonstrate that blackhole attacks significantly degrade network performance, reducing Packet Delivery Ratio to as low as 24.74% and increasing latency up to 2.42 s.This paper addresses this gap by proposing a novel lightweight approach for mitigating blackhole attacks using collaborative packet-based detection mechanisms. The proposed solution effectively detects and mitigates these attacks, improving PDR to 88.86%, reducing latency to 0.595 s, and maintaining a minimal memory footprint compared to complex machine learning or heavy cryptographic RPL-based solutions. This study contributes to advancing security solutions tailored for edge-centric IoT environments, ensuring robust and reliable network operation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LIMA Laboratory, Nour Bachir University Center, El-Bayadh, Algeria

    Mohammed Belkheir, Allel Mokaddem & Djamila Ziani

  2. Nour Bachir University Center, El-Bayadh, Algeria

    Mehdi Rouissat

  3. STIC Laboratory, University Aboubekr Belkaid, Tlemcen, 13000, Algeria

    Mehdi Rouissat

  4. Haute Alsace University, Mulhouse, France

    Pascal Lorenz

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  1. Mohammed Belkheir
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  2. Mehdi Rouissat
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Contributions

Mohammed Belkheir: Investigation, Methodology, Writing- Original draft preparation, Review & Editing, Conceptualization. Mehdi Rouissat: Investigation, Methodology, Writing- Original draft preparation, Review & Editing, Conceptualization. Allel Mokaddem: Investigation, Methodology, Writing- Original draft preparation, Review & Editing, Conceptualization. Djamila Ziani: Investigation, Methodology, Writing- Original draft preparation, Review & Editing, Conceptualization. Pascal Lorenz: Investigation, Methodology, Writing- Original draft preparation, Review & Editing, Conceptualization.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Rouissat or Allel Mokaddem.

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Belkheir, M., Rouissat, M., Mokaddem, A. et al. Lightweight Novel Approach for Collaborative Packet-Based Mitigation of Blackhole Attacks in RPL-Based IoT. J Netw Syst Manage 33, 34 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10922-025-09908-1

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