Vouch

Abstract

In Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), nodes periodically share beacons in order to convey information about identity, velocity, acceleration, and position. Truthful positioning of nodes is essential for the proper behavior of applications, including the formation of vehicular platoons. Incorrect position information can cause problems such as increased fuel consumption, reduced passenger comfort, and in some cases even accidents. In this paper, we design and evaluate Vouch: a secure proof-of-location scheme tailored for VANETs. The scheme leverages the node positioning capability of fifth generation (5G) wireless network roadside units. The key idea of Vouch is to disseminate periodic proofs of location, combined with plausibility checking of movement between proofs. We show that Vouch can detect position falsification attacks in high-speed scenarios without incurring a large overhead.