STRONG VANET SECURITY ON A BUDGET

This article proposes a security authentication process that is well-suited for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANET). As compared to current Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) proposals for VANET authentication, the scheme is significantly more efficient with regard to bandwidth and computation. The scheme uses time as the creator of asymmetric knowledge. A sender creates a long chain of keys. Each key is used for only a short period of time to sign messages. When a key expires, it is publicly revealed, and then never again used. (The sender subsequently uses the next key in its chain to sign future messages.) Upon receiving a revealed key, recipients authenticate previously received messages. The root of a sender's keychain is given in a certificate signed by an authority. This article describes several possible certificate exchange methods. It also addresses privacy issues in VANET, specifically the tension between anonymity and the ability to revoke certificates.