Secret Instantiation in Ad-Hoc Networks
Sandeep S. Kulkarni, Mohamed G. Gouda and Anish Arora
Abstract
In this paper, we focus our attention on the problem of assigning
initial secrets to \users in \adhoc network (respectively, sensors in a sensor network) so that they can use those
secrets to ensure authentication and privacy during their communication.
The goal of this assignment is to ensure that any two users can communicate securely with each other even though each \user maintains only a small number of secrets. With this motivation, we present a
protocol that maintains $O(\sqrt{n})$ secrets per \user where $n$ is
the number of \users in the system. We show that our secret
distribution protocol suffices for privacy and authentication as well
as secure multihop communication between two \users. Furthermore, we show that the
number of secrets maintained in this protocol is within a constant
factor of the optimal. For the case where \user capability prevents
them from maintaining the necessary secrets, we propose two
probabilistic protocols that maintain $O(log \ n)$ secrets and where
the probability of security compromise between two \users is inversely
proportional to the number of secrets they maintain. Thus, our
protocols provide a continuum where the level of privacy and authentication depends upon
\user requirements and capabilities.
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