A Secure Encryption Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks

A secure encryption protocol for mobile ad hoc networks is proposed based on cluster-based structure. In proposed scheme, we employ a one-way key chain and polynomial function as the basic means of constructing the encryption procedure in order to reduces the need for public key cryptography and shortage overhead. The proposed protocol avoids massive message exchanges for key setup that are sent during cluster members. Each cluster member is only required to receive messages to setup the cluster key, and hence can decrypt the encrypted message. The analysis of security and efficiency shows that the proposed scheme cannot only has the same advantages with broadcast encryption systems, but also can easily and efficiently add new cluster members and revoke malicious cluster members. Therefore, it is more efficient, and more practical protocol for mobile ad hoc networks.