Distributed network resource discovery on a mobile device

We propose a different approach to determining network availability of mobile nodes which leverages on the fact that nodes on the move will meet other nodes who will be able to share conditions of networks they have recently encountered. In our previous works, we present MOBIX, a system where nodes exchange information about network conditions using short-range communication such as Bluetooth. In this paper we focus on the security and privacy aspects of MOBIX. We introduce a token system based on pseudonymous digital certificates managed by a trusted third-party to protect the system from intruders, as well as enforce limited influence of reports. We benchmark our proposed system on an Android mobile phone and show that our system is feasible even using a software implementation and with the processing capabilities of today´s mobile devices.