Design And Analyses Of Distributed Authentication Schemes In Cluster-based Ad Hoc Networks

Without the help of any preexisting infrastructure, Ad Hoc networks are multihop temporary wireless networks in a self-organizing way to provide data communication, which have many applications in battlefields, conferences, emergency and disaster areas, law enforcement and so on. Ad hoc networks are highly dynamic in nature and vulnerable to attacks on wireless links, so security is a hard problem in Ad Hoc networks.Authentication is critical to secure communication in Ad Hoc networks. The advantages and shorts of the existing security schemes are discussed. With the expanding of the network, the existing distributed authentication schemes have much network load, poor availability and scalability when being applied in the Ad Hoc network with the flat structure. Based on the distributed authentication scheme, a cluster-based distributed authentication scheme is proposed to overcome the shorts of the existing distributed authentication schemes. The proposed scheme adopts a zone authentication service model and sets up the distributed authentication service in the cluster-based Ad Hoc network. By dividing the network into independent authentication areas, it has better security and scalability, and enhances the efficiency of authentication service with less network load.At last we analyze the security of the proposed scheme and simulate the scheme under Network Simulator Version 2 (NS-2). The analysis shows the scheme reduces the success rate of the attacker Malice with strong ability of impersonation, increases the success rate of the authentication with less network load, and fits well in the large Ad Hoc networks.