Secure routing and trust computation in multihop infrastructureless networks

Authors

Tirthankar Ghosh, Florida International University

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor's Name

Niki Pissinou

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Kia Makki

Third Advisor's Name

Kang Yen

Fourth Advisor's Name

Shih-Ming Lee

Date of Defense

6-2-2005

Abstract

Today's wireless networks rely mostly on infrastructural support for their operation. With the concept of ubiquitous computing growing more popular, research on infrastructureless networks have been rapidly growing. However, such types of networks face serious security challenges when deployed. This dissertation focuses on designing a secure routing solution and trust modeling for these infrastructureless networks.

The dissertation presents a trusted routing protocol that is capable of finding a secure end-to-end route in the presence of malicious nodes acting either independently or in collusion, The solution protects the network from active internal attacks, known to be the most severe types of attacks in an ad hoc application. Route discovery is based on trust levels of the nodes, which need to be dynamically computed to reflect the malicious behavior in the network. As such, we have developed a trust computational model in conjunction with the secure routing protocol that analyzes the different malicious behavior and quantifies them in the model itself. Our work is the first step towards protecting an ad hoc network from colluding internal attack. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, extensive simulation has been carried out to evaluate the protocol efficiency and scalability with both network size and mobility.

This research has laid the foundation for developing a variety of techniques that will permit people to justifiably trust the use of ad hoc networks to perform critical functions, as well as to process sensitive information without depending on any infrastructural support and hence will enhance the use of ad hoc applications in both military and civilian domains.

Identifier

FI15101570

Recommended Citation

Ghosh, Tirthankar, "Secure routing and trust computation in multihop infrastructureless networks" (2005). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3933.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3933