A secure clustering scheme for geographically routed wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper we propose a distributed secure clustering scheme for wireless ad hoc networks. Our scheme is implemented over the GPSR ad hoc routing protocol and consists of a) a weighted clustering algorithm that forms opinions, b) a threshold-based protective block, c) a distributed voting-based cooperative block by which the final cluster heads are elected, and d) a cryptographic block used for authentication checks. The attack tolerance of the proposed scheme is investigated through a series of simulation experiments that included a broad array of attack scenarios.