Authentication vs. Privacy within Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Security and protection of private user information are a prerequisite for the deployment of the vehicular network technologies. Nevertheless, the establishment of a secure communication architecture within vehicular ad hoc networks address special challenges, due to the characteristic and specificities of such environment (high dynamic and mobility of nodes, high rate of topology changes, high variability in nodes density and neighborhood, broadcast/geocast communication nature . . . ). Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are therefore target of several malicious attacks (internal or external), in addition to unintentional faults and errors. In this context, I present in this paper a novel security communication architecture dedicated to operate within VANETs, ensuring authentication of vehicles and revocation of intrusted ones while guarantying privacy of drivers identities. The safety and efficiency of my security architecture is validated through its formal verification using the security protocols verifier tool AVISPA (Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications).