WOA-DE Hybrid for Energy-Efficient and Secure Routing in MANETs

The delivery of reliable data in MANETs depends on efficient and secure routing. Major challenges are energy consumption management and counteracting security threats. This research introduces a hybrid algorithm, WOA-DE, combining the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Differential Evolution (DE). WOA enhances exploration inspired by humpback whales' bubble-net hunting, while DE accelerates convergence through exploitation. The algorithm optimizes routing metrics such as energy efficiency and end-to-end delay. There is security against Byzantine and Wormhole attacks while ensuring data to be reliably delivered. The WOA-DE simulations proved its superiority to conventional algorithms in the metrics of QoS, energy consumption, and safe routing.