Pseudo-identity based encryption and its application in mobile ad hoc networks

An ad hoc network is characterized by the absence of any central infrastructure. Since the network is formed in fly, nodes may either join or leave the network at their wish. Since there are no dedicated routers, routing function is accomplished through multiple peer-peer connections. Thus any malicious node may offer routing voluntarily in order to attract more traffic towards it. In order to establish confidentiality and integrity of data packets, it is essential to use some form of encryption. Public key algorithms may not be possible as there is no possibility of having a central PKI in an ad hoc network, and CPU/memory requirements. Symmetric key cryptography may be used; however, session key may not be distributed securely to remote nodes. In this paper, we provide an elegant solution to these two problems using our proposed algorithm called pseudo-identity based encryption.