Hierarchical identity based cryptography for end-to-end security in DTNs

Abstract

Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) arise whenever traditional assumptions about todaypsilas Internet such as continuous end-to-end connectivity, low latencies and low error rates are not applicable. These challenges impose constraints on the choice and implementation of possible security mechanisms in DTNs. The key requirements for a security architecture in DTNs include ensuring the protection of DTN infrastructure from unauthorized use as well as application protection by providing confidentiality, integrity and authentication services for end-to-end communication. In this paper, we examine the issues in providing application protection in DTNs and look at various possible mechanisms. We then propose an architecture based on Hierarchical Identity Based Encryption (HIBE) that provides end-to-end security services along with the ability to have fine-grained revocation and access control while at the same time ensuring efficient key management and distribution. We believe that a HIBE based mechanism would be much more efficient in dealing with the unique constraints of DTNs compared to standard public key mechanisms (PKI).