Three Point Encryption (3PE): Secure Communications in Delay Tolerant Networks

Abstract

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) are a subset of Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) composed of several mobile devices. These dynamic environments makes conventional security algorithms unreliable, nodes that are far apart may not have access to the other's public key, making secure message exchange difficult. Other security methods rely on requesting the key from a trusted third party, which can be unavailable in DTN. The purpose of this paper is to introduce two message security algorithms capable of delivering messages securely against either eavesdropping or manipulation. The first algorithm, Chaining, uses multiple midpoints to re-encrypt the message for the destination node. The second, Fragmenting, separates the message key into pieces that are both routed and secured independently from each other. Both techniques have improved security in hostile environments. This improvement has a performance trade-off, however, reducing the delivery ratio and increasing the delivery time.