This paper presents a powerful and versatile security suite for the AODV (Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector) routing protocol. It offers a coverage on common security aspects such as encryption and authentication, and it can be easily modified to work with any distance-vector-based routing for MANET (Mobile Ad hoc Networks). The suite utilizes powerful authentication and user-adjustable encryptions based on digital certificate chaining and popular ciphers such as DES, AES, and RSA. The security strength can be customized to reach a desired balance with the performance of the network. The suite has a highly modular design, which allows additional security strength to be added on top of the existing framework. This attractive feature enables heterogeneous applications to utilize various levels of security routing on the same MANET. The multiple levels of security strengths are careful analyzed. The range of impacts on network performance is also illustrated by simulation, which shows that the strongest security scheme still achieves about 75% of the throughput, while incurs 20-30% additional delay.

I want to thank my parents who nurtured me and stood by my decision throughout my college years. I also want to deliver my sincere thanks to my advisor, Dr. Melody Moh, the diligent and patient professor who supported and encouraged me throughout this hard time. Finally, I like to thank my untiring professors-Dr. Matt Bishop, Dr. Chen-nee Chuah, Dr. Teng Moh, and Dr. Mark Stamp (in alphabetical order by last name), whose great lectures and teachings inspired my works.