Establishing pairwise keys for secure communication in ad hoc networks: A probabilistic approach

Sencun Zhu, Shouhuai Xu, Sanjeev Setia, Sushil Jajodia

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

267 Scopus citations

Abstract

A prerequisite for a secure communication between two nodes in an ad hoc network is that the nodes share a key to bootstrap their trust relationship. In this paper, we present a scalable and distributed protocol that enables two nodes to establish a pairwise shared key on the fly, without requiring the use of any on-line key distribution center. The design of our protocol is based on a novel combination of two techniques - probabilistic key sharing and threshold secret sharing. Our protocol is scalable since every node only needs to possess a small number of keys, independent of the network size, and it is computationally efficient because it only relies on symmetric key cryptography based operations. We show that a pairwise key established between two nodes using our protocol is secure against a collusion attack by up to a certain number of compromised nodes. We also show through a set of simulations that our protocol can be parameterized to meet the desired levels of performance, security and storage for the application under consideration.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings - 11th IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols, ICNP 2003
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
Pages326-335
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)0769520243
DOIs
StatePublished - 2003
Event11th IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols, ICNP 2003 - Atlanta, United States
Duration: Nov 4 2003Nov 7 2003

Publication series

NameProceedings - International Conference on Network Protocols, ICNP
Volume2003-January
ISSN (Print)1092-1648

Other

Other11th IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols, ICNP 2003
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period11/4/0311/7/03

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Software

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