A new authentication protocol for revocable anonymity in ad-hoc networks

摘要

This paper describes a new protocol for authentication in ad-hoc networks.The protocol has been designed to meet specialized requirements of ad-hocnetworks, such as lack of direct communication between nodes or requirementsfor revocable anonymity. At the same time, a ad-hoc authentication protocolmust be resistant to spoofing, eavesdropping and playback, andman-in-the-middle attacks. The article analyzes existing authentication methodsbased on the Public Key Infrastructure, and finds that they have severaldrawbacks in ad-hoc networks. Therefore, a new authentication protocol, basingon established cryptographic primitives (Merkle's puzzles and zero-knowledgeproofs) is proposed. The protocol is studied for a model ad-hoc chatapplication that provides private conversations.