Privacy in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks : a Review

Vehicle implementing vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is not a simple machine of glass and steel but a building block of network of computers. The main goal of VANET, and more broadly vehicular network, is to avoid traffic jams. The need for scrutiny is growing as vehicles are increasingly automated and connected to the Internet. Without better scrutiny, the network is vulnerable to various kinds of attacks. Hence, privacy of VANET users is to be preserved along with an anomaly free network. This paper reviews studies concerning the challenges of providing privacy to the users of vehicular network. The review adopts three perspectives. First, different ways an attacker can attack the network are discussed and it is shown that few of these attacks can be avoided with the solutions reviewed. Secondly, possible schemes for improvement in VANET privacy are presented. The proposed solutions exhibit a trend of different levels of privacy challenges in VANET. Finally, few of the privacy-based schemes are classified and examined according to the common characteristics displayed by them.