A New Key Management Method for Ad Hoc Networks

Some security-sensitive fields like military scenarios are the main application areas of ad hoc networks. In those areas, security issues have to be considered seriously for the network. In this paper, a key management method based on the combined public key is proposed for ad hoc networks. Through this method, private and public key pairs can be distributed to nodes of ad hoc networks efficiently. No certificate or other authentic channel is needed while two nodes perform authentication and key agreement protocol. The key management method is especially suitable for ad hoc networks, which has no fixed infrastructure and has constrained resources.