A Blockchain-Based Secure Message Routing Framework for VANETs with Trusted Computing Integration
Keywords:
VANET, Vehicular Ad Hoc Network, secure routing, blockchain, distributed ledger, trusted computing, Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), Trusted Platform Module (TPM), decentralized security, trust managementAbstract
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) enable timely inter-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication to improve road safety and traffic efficiency. However, their high mobility, dynamic topology, and open wireless medium expose VANETs to many attacks: malicious vehicles can inject false safety information or modify messages, potentially causing accidents and loss of life. Traditional security schemes (e.g. public-key infrastructures and authentication protocols) alone may not address all threats in this decentralized, resource-constrained environment. To address these challenges, we propose a novel framework that integrates blockchain technology with trusted computing (hardware-based trust anchors) for secure multi-hop message routing in VANETs. In our design, vehicles and roadside units (RSUs) form a consortium blockchain that immutably records credentials, message hashes, and trust values. Vehicles’ on-board units (OBUs) and RSUs employ Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) or Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to ensure that message-handling software has not been tampered with, binding cryptographic keys to trusted hardware. The combined use of distributed ledger and hardware roots-of-trust prevents identity spoofing and false data injection, while enabling decentralized trust management. We detail the architecture, algorithms, and message flows of the system, and present a simulation study (using Veins/OMNeT++ with realistic VANET mobility) to evaluate performance. Results show the proposed scheme achieves high packet delivery ratio (~94% with 100 nodes, even under attack) and low end-to-end delay (~0.13s) outperforming benchmark protocols. Key contributions include the integration of trusted computing into VANET routing, a blockchain-based trust and revocation infrastructure, and demonstration of robust security against attacks.
Downloads
References
A. W. Malik and A. H. Abdullah, “Trust management in vehicular ad hoc network: a survey,” Wireless Personal Communications, vol. 106, no. 2, pp. 603–626, Sep. 2019.
M. Gerla, E.-K. Lee, G. Pau, and U. Lee, “Internet of vehicles: From intelligent grid to autonomous cars and vehicular clouds,” in Proc. IEEE WF-IoT, Mar. 2014, pp. 241–246.
S. S. Manvi and S. Tangade, “A survey on authentication schemes in VANETs for secured communication,” Vehicular Communications, vol. 9, pp. 19–30, Jul. 2017.
K. Zhang, X. Liang, R. Lu, and X. Shen, “Sybil attacks and their defenses in the internet of vehicles,” IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 372–383, Aug. 2014.
J. Kang, Z. Xiong, D. Niyato, D. Ye, and J. Zhang, “Toward secure blockchain-enabled Internet of Vehicles: Optimizing consensus management using reputation and contract theory,” IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 68, no. 3, pp. 2906–2920, Mar. 2019.
A. Dorri, M. Steger, S. S. Kanhere, and R. Jurdak, “Blockchain: A distributed solution to automotive security and privacy,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 119–125, Dec. 2017.
M. Conti, C. Lal, and R. Mohan, “A survey on security and privacy issues of Bitcoin,” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 3416–3452, Fourthquarter 2018.
Z. Lu, W. Wang, Q. Wang, and C. Wang, “Blockchain technology for smart grid: A survey,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 53164–53185, Apr. 2019.
R. Roman, J. Lopez, and M. Mambo, “Mobile edge computing, fog et al.: A survey and analysis of security threats and challenges,” Future Generation Computer Systems, vol. 78, pp. 680–698, Jan. 2018.
S. Nakamoto, “Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system,” 2008. [Online]. Available: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Z. Zhang, X. Wang, and L. Sun, “A blockchain-based trust management framework for VANETs,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 103327–103338, Jul. 2019.
H. S. Kim and H. Oh, “Blockchain for decentralized secure vehicle communication,” in Proc. IEEE VTC-Fall, Sep. 2018, pp. 1–5.
K. Rabieh, A. M. Azab, and A. A. El-Moursy, “Trusted computing for VANET security: A comprehensive review,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 14904–14925, 2022.
M. A. Ferrag, L. Maglaras, and H. Janicke, “Blockchain and its applications for digital forensics: A review,” Internet of Things, vol. 11, 2020.
M. A. Ferrag, L. Maglaras, and A. Derhab, “Authentication and privacy schemes for vehicular ad hoc networks: A survey,” Vehicular Communications, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 125–150, Jul. 2014.
S. Ruj, M. Stojmenovic, and A. Nayak, “Decentralized access control with anonymous authentication of data stored in clouds,” IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 384–394, Feb. 2014.
K. Christidis and M. Devetsikiotis, “Blockchains and smart contracts for the Internet of Things,” IEEE Access, vol. 4, pp. 2292–2303, 2016.
N. C. Luong, D. T. Hoang, S. Gong, D. Niyato, P. Wang, Y.-C. Liang, and D. I. Kim, “Applications of deep reinforcement learning in communications and networking: A survey,” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 3133–3174, 2019.
R. Lu, X. Lin, H. Zhu, and X. Shen, “SPARK: A new VANET-based smart parking scheme for large parking lots,” in Proc. IEEE INFOCOM, Apr. 2009, pp. 1413–1421.
A. Abulibdeh, “Secure communication for connected vehicles using blockchain: A survey,” Vehicular Communications, vol. 27, 2021.
Y. Yuan and F.-Y. Wang, “Blockchain: The state of the art and future trends,” Acta Automatica Sinica, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 481–494, Apr. 2016.
J. Zhang, F. R. Yu, N. Yang, and V. C. M. Leung, “Physical layer security for cooperative wireless networks: Challenges and solutions,” IEEE Network, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 26–31, Sep. 2015.
Q. Lin, J. Shen, X. Du, and F. Tang, “A blockchain-based privacy-preserving payment mechanism for VANETs,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 38696–38707, Mar. 2019.
R. H. Weber and R. Weber, Internet of Things: Legal Perspectives, Springer, 2010.
N. Lu, N. Cheng, N. Zhang, X. Shen, and J. W. Mark, “Connected vehicles: Solutions and challenges,” IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 289–299, Aug. 2014.
G. Yang, H. Hu, Y. Huang, and B. Liu, “A blockchain-based access control scheme with trusted computing for IoT,” Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, vol. 2021, 2021.
C. Dwork and M. Naor, “Pricing via processing or combatting junk mail,” in Proc. CRYPTO, vol. 740, Springer, 1992, pp. 139–147.
A. Wasef and X. Shen, “EMAP: Expedite message authentication protocol for vehicular ad hoc networks,” IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 78–89, Jan. 2013.
M. Eiza and Q. Ni, “Driving with sharks: Rethinking connected vehicles with vehicle cybersecurity,” IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 45–51, Jun. 2017.
H. Sedjelmaci, S. M. Senouci, and N. Ansari, “A hierarchical detection and response system to enhance security against lethal cyber-attacks in UAV networks,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, vol. 48, no. 9, pp. 1594–1606, Sep. 2018.
A. Ghosh and S. Chatterjee, “Trust-based secure communication in vehicular ad-hoc networks using blockchain technology,” Computer Communications, vol. 165, pp. 30–45, Feb. 2021.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All papers should be submitted electronically. All submitted manuscripts must be original work that is not under submission at another journal or under consideration for publication in another form, such as a monograph or chapter of a book. Authors of submitted papers are obligated not to submit their paper for publication elsewhere until an editorial decision is rendered on their submission. Further, authors of accepted papers are prohibited from publishing the results in other publications that appear before the paper is published in the Journal unless they receive approval for doing so from the Editor-In-Chief.
IJISAE open access articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This license lets the audience to give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made and if they remix, transform, or build upon the material, they must distribute contributions under the same license as the original.
