Spraying Techniques for Securing Key Exchange in Large Ad-hoc Networks

Abstract

Massive ad-hoc mobile networks with fluctuating topologies, as is expected for the Internet of Things (IoT), vehicular networks (VANETs), and others, allow for new solutions for the initial key exchange problem. Spraying data on multiple paths is a novel algorithm for confidential key exchange over public, insecure mobile ad-hoc network. It assumes neither prior knowledge nor a trusted third party. It is based on the inherent fluctuating topology of such networks. By spraying the key exchange packets over multiple fluctuating paths, an adversary's ability of attacking a communication link is greatly diminished; thus, active attackers are turned passive. In this paper, two spraying techniques are compared using multiple simulations on random network topologies. The results show that for small networks one technique surpasses the other, but as the network grows - as is expected in IoT, smart cities, VANETs, etc. - this advantage is diminished.