Research on Security and Privacy in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. Preface As information and communications technologies (ICT) become increasingly pervasive, vehicles are expected [Blau08] to be equipped in the near future with intelligent devices and radio interfaces, known as on-board units (OBUs). OBUs are allowed to talk to other OBUs and the roadside infrastructure formed by roadside units (RSUs). The OBUs and RSUs, equipped with on-board sensory, processing, and wireless communication modules, form a self-organized vehicular network, commonly referred to as vehicular ad hoc network (VANET), a commercial instantiation of mobile ad hoc networks with vehicles as the mobile nodes. VANET systems aim at providing a platform for various applications that can improve traffic safety and efficiency, driver assistance, transportation regulation, infotainment, etc. There is substantial research and industrial effort to develop this market. Vehicular communications are supported by the Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) standard [DSRC] in the USA and the Car 2 Car Communication Consortium [Car2car] in Eu-rope. Microsoft Corp.'s MSN TV [Msntv] and KVH Industries, Inc. [KVH] have introduced an automotive vehicle Internet access system called Trac-Net, which can bring Internet service to any in-car video screen. In Europe, several projects such as SEVECOM [Secure] and NOW [NOW] are under way. It is estimated that the market for vehicular communications will reach v several billion euros. While the tremendous benefits expected from vehicular communications and the huge number of vehicles are strong points of VANETs, their weakness is vulnerability to attacks against security and privacy: • In what regards security, attackers may exploit VANETs to send bogus information to cheat other vehicles. For instance, selfish vehicles may attempt to clear up the way ahead or mess up the way behind with false traffic reports; criminals being chased may disseminate bogus notifications to other vehicles in order to block police cars; terrorists may produce serious traffic collisions with contradictory traffic announcements. Such attacks may result in serious harm, even loss of lives. • Regarding privacy, VANETs open a big window to observers. It is very easy to collect information about …