A hybrid cryptography model for managing security in dynamic topology of MANET

Despite its superiority to its conventional counterpart, modern telecommunication is beset with newer problems. For instance, MANET is riddled by issues like unreliability of wireless media, uncertain connectivity, host mobility and lack of infrastructure. However, perhaps, a most important aspect of such networks is the problem of security. The computational load and complexity involved in this environment are strongly subject to the dynamic nature of network topology, especially the restriction by the node's available resources. Therefore, key management and authentication are a central aspect for security in MANET and thus they should not be weak. For such small-scale networks, we propose here a security architecture utilizing a seniority-based trust model and PGP type certification service by building a specific PKI. Related algorithms are also presented. The performance of this new model is evaluated through simulation. The model should find wide applicability because it is simple, easy to deploy, efficient, and more secure and reliable than other existing solutions in the literature.