Performance Analysis of Trust-Based Node Evaluation Schemes in Wireless and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

As the use of mobile ad hoc networks spreads beyond personal networks to practical military and commercial applications, addressing security issues becomes extremely important in this area. However, mobile networks are more susceptible to malicious behavior; thus, an effective node evaluation mechanism can prevent malicious nodes from initiating attacks and tampering the data communications process in these networks. In this article, we formalize the node evaluation problem, discuss its challenges, and present possible solutions. Moreover, we propose a novel node evaluation solution with the assistance of trustworthy neighboring nodes, which allows a mobile node to more effectively evaluate its neighbors based on the additional trust information from selected neighboring nodes. Our schemes can thus enhance the security of a network and improve the effectiveness of node evaluation. Finally, we evaluate our node evaluation strategies and analyze their advantages when compared to existing node evaluation mechanisms used in wireless communications.