Securing Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) Against Cyber Threats
College
College of Sciences
Department
Computer Science
Graduate Level
Doctoral
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) enable real-time communication among vehicles and infrastructure, improving traffic management and road safety. However, their open and dynamic nature makes them vulnerable to cyber threats such as record-and-relay attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and deception by pranksters. This work proposes a security framework that operates without a major central authority, relying instead on a decentralized authentication mechanism for verifying vehicles. The mobility model considers two-way lanes, varying vehicular densities, and unplanned entry and exit on highways, ensuring a realistic traffic environment. The network model integrates multi-hop packet relays, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, encryption and decryption of packets, data chunking, and multi-source/ multi-destination routing for enhanced security and resilience. The proposed security methodology is grounded in probability theory, modeling attack likelihood and the effectiveness of countermeasures using stochastic analysis. Simulation experiments evaluate system robustness under different attack scenarios, measuring key metrics such as message integrity, delay, and attack detection rates. Access Points (APs) serve as communication hubs, facilitating secure data transmission. Our results demonstrate that the proposed decentralized security mechanism mitigates cyber threats effectively, ensuring secure and resilient VANET communication in dynamic and adversarial environments.
Keywords
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), V2V Communication, V2I Communication, Cybersecurity, Simulation-Based Security Analysis
Securing Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) Against Cyber Threats
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) enable real-time communication among vehicles and infrastructure, improving traffic management and road safety. However, their open and dynamic nature makes them vulnerable to cyber threats such as record-and-relay attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and deception by pranksters. This work proposes a security framework that operates without a major central authority, relying instead on a decentralized authentication mechanism for verifying vehicles. The mobility model considers two-way lanes, varying vehicular densities, and unplanned entry and exit on highways, ensuring a realistic traffic environment. The network model integrates multi-hop packet relays, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, encryption and decryption of packets, data chunking, and multi-source/ multi-destination routing for enhanced security and resilience. The proposed security methodology is grounded in probability theory, modeling attack likelihood and the effectiveness of countermeasures using stochastic analysis. Simulation experiments evaluate system robustness under different attack scenarios, measuring key metrics such as message integrity, delay, and attack detection rates. Access Points (APs) serve as communication hubs, facilitating secure data transmission. Our results demonstrate that the proposed decentralized security mechanism mitigates cyber threats effectively, ensuring secure and resilient VANET communication in dynamic and adversarial environments.