Secure and reliable wireless and ad hoc communications

Abstract

Wireless and ad hoc communication systems create additional challenges for the implementation of security and reliability services when compared to fixed networks. On the one hand, the inherent characteristics of wireless environment contribute serious system vulnerabilities if the security requirements are not met. On the other hand, the mobility pattern as well as resource constraints of ad hoc devices make security design more difficult. The principal objective of SWACOM project (Secure and Reliable Wireless and Ad Hoc Communications) is to analyze vulnerabilities and develop mechanisms to provide security and reliability in wireless communication networks. A particular focus is on large scale distributed ad hoc networks, which are used in many civilian and military applications. The work contained in this PhD thesis aims to investigate and develop solutions for providing secure and reliable wireless and ad hoc communications. The research goals of this PhD work are: Goal 1: To collect knowledge that forms a foundation for security and reliability in wireless communications, especially communication in ad hoc networks. Goal 2: To create solutions for securing and providing reliable wireless communication services, especially for ad hoc network applications. This PhD project contains a number of distinct, but related works tied to SWACOM project research theme. The main contributions of this thesis are: Contribution 1: Propose an alternative approach to secure wireless and ad hoc communications by using identity-based cryptography. Paper A introduces a new application of identity-based cryptography to replace current ZigBee security solution, while Paper B proposes an application of identity-based cryptography to secure a distributed electronic payment scheme using mobile phones. Contribution 2: Propose a routing algorithm to provide reliable communications for underwater sensor networks. Sensor devices running our algorithm can actively move out of shadow zones areas, which causes network disconnection, to keep themselves connected. The solution helps to increase the availability and reliability of underwater sensor network operations. This contribution is presented in Paper C. Contribution 3: Propose a new secure multicast routing algorithm to increase energy e ciency in actuator and sensor networks. We use existing security building blocks for providing security services while introducing a new solution for reducing energy consumption for multicast communication in sensor and actuator networks. Paper D presents this work. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is an introduction that contains two chapters while the second part is a collection of papers, which consists of four papers. Chapter 1 presents the background and motivation for this PhD research. In this chapter, we briefly review the security for wireless and ad hoc networks, as well as the use of identity-based cryptography to simplify security implementations. We also discuss security and reliability issues in sensor networks, including underwater sensors with different characteristics. Chapter 2 summarizes paper contents and presents contributions of our papers. This chapter ends with conclusions and discussion of open problems. Four papers in Part II are grouped into two categories. Paper A and B are the applications of identity-based cryptography for securing wireless and ad hoc applications. Paper C and D are solutions for secure and reliable communications in wireless sensor networks.