Zero-knowledge Authentication for Self-managed Vehicular Networks

Abstract

This paper proposes a new solution for the practical, fast and secure deployment of vehicular networks. Its main contribution is a self-managed authentication method that does not require the participation of any certification authority because the nodes themselves certify the validity of the public-keys of the nodes they trust, and issue the corresponding certificates that are saved in local key stores according to an algorithm here proposed. In addition, the new node authentication method includes a cryptographic protocol that each node can use to convince another node about the possession of certain secret without revealing anything about it. Thanks to all these tools, cooperation among involved vehicles can be used to detect and warn about abnormal traffic conditions. One of the most interesting aspects of the proposal is that the required devices can be simple existing mobile devices equipped with wireless connection. This work includes a performance analysis of a simulation of the proposed algorithms and the obtained results are promising.