Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

The emerging technology of ad hoc networking is based on wireless architecture without fixed infrastructure and prior configuration of the network nodes (devices). Ad hoc networks have a wide range of applications, such as emergency response operations, military or police networks, disaster relief operations, tele-conferences, and safety-critical business operations. Except for the property that they form independent networks, they can also be part of existing networks. The primary security considerations in ad hoc networks are: authentication of nodes that wish to communicate with each other; secure establishment of a session key among the authenticated nodes; secure routing in multi-hop networks; and secure storage and transmision of (key) data in nodes. Due to their self-organization structure, diversity of architecture, and wide spectrum of applications, implementing security in ad hoc networks constitutes a very challenge problem. In this project, we propose to investigate multi-functional modular authenticators (MFMA) which can meet requirements of different layers of networks for providing authentications of nodes' identities, routings, and key establishments in ad hoc networks. We use identity-based and lightweight cryptography together with routing-awareness for design of MFMA to achieve features such as certificateless key distribution and management, algorithmic side channel attack resistance, fault tolerance and compromised nodes detection. The knowledge and technology we expect to develop in this project will be of great importance to Canadian industry as well as government organizations.