Efficient group key agreement & recovery in ad hoc networks

Ad hoc networks are dynamic peer-to-peer wireless networks composed of a collection of nodes which employ wireless transmission methods in a self-organized way without relying on fixed infrastructure or predetermined connectivity. Such networks pose great challenges in group communication. In this paper, we propose an efficient group key agreement and recovery mechanism based on key escrow systems for ad hoc networks. Nodes randomly change their operation and perform authentication services for specific groups

Security by Spatial Reference:Using Relative Positioning to Authenticate Devices for Spontaneous Interaction

Spontaneous interaction is a desirable characteristic associated with mobile and ubiquitous computing. The aim is to enable users to connect their personal devices with devices encountered in their environment in order to take advantage of interaction opportunities in accordance with their situation. However, it is difficult to secure spontaneous interaction as this requires authentication of the encountered device, in the absence of any prior knowledge of the device. In this paper we present a method for establishing and securing spontaneous interactions on the basis of emphspatial references that capture the spatial relationship of the involved devices. Spatial references are obtained by accurate sensing of relative device positions, presented to the user for initiation of interactions, and used in a peer authentication protocol that exploits a novel mechanism for message transfer over ultrasound to ensures spatial authenticity of the sender

A two‐step authentication framework for Mobile ad hoc networks

The lack of fixed infrastructure in ad hoc networks causes nodes to rely more heavily on peer nodes for communication. Nevertheless, establishing trust in such a distributed environment is very difficult, since it is not straightforward for a node to determine if its peer nodes can be trusted. An additional concern in such an environment is with whether a peer node is merely relaying a message or if it is the originator of the message. In this paper, we propose an authentication approach for protecting nodes in mobile ad hoc networks. The security requirements for protecting data link and network layers are identified and the design criteria for creating secure ad hoc networks using several authentication protocols are analyzed. Protocols based on zero knowledge and challenge response techniques are presented and their performance is evaluated through analysis and simulation

Peer-assisted location authentication and access control for wireless networks

This paper presents the development and implementation of a location‐based, lightweight peer‐assisted authentication scheme for use in wireless networks. The notion of peer‐assisted authentication is based upon some target user equipment‐ (UE) seeking authentication and access to a network based upon its physical location. The target UE seeks authentication through the UE of peers in the same network. Compared with previous work, the approach in this paper does not rely on any cryptographic proofs from a central authentication infrastructure, thus avoiding complex infrastructure management. However, the peer‐assisted authentication consumes network channel resources which will impact on network performance. In this paper, we also present an access control algorithm for balancing the location authentication, network quality of service (QoS), network capacity and time delay. The results demonstrate that peer‐assisted authentication considering location authentication and system QoS through dynamic access control strategies can be effectively and efficiently implemented in a number of use cases