Secure Trust-Based Routing Protocol for Delay Tolerant Networks

Problem Definition

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: In Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), the presence of high end-to-end latency, frequent disconnections, and opportunistic communication over unreliable wireless links pose significant challenges for secure routing. Additionally, the nodes within the network can exhibit various behaviors ranging from well-behaved to selfish or even malicious. Existing routing protocols may not effectively address the security concerns posed by such diverse node behaviors. There is a need for a protocol that can dynamically manage trust in DTNs to optimize routing securely in the presence of all types of nodes. The protocol should be capable of identifying and handling nodes with selfish behavior while also being resilient against trust-related attacks.

Existing techniques, such as Bayesian trust-based routing and PROPHET, may not provide an optimal balance between message overhead, message delay, delivery ratio, and protocol maintenance overhead in DTNs. This proposed project aims to address these challenges by developing a dynamic trust management protocol for secure routing in DTNs. The protocol will be designed to effectively trade off message overhead and message delay to improve the delivery ratio in epidemic routing scenarios. By validating the proposed technique through extensive simulations, the goal is to provide a more efficient and robust solution for secure routing in DTNs compared to existing trust-based routing protocols.

Proposed Work

The project titled "Dynamic Trust Management for Delay Tolerant Networks and Its Application to Secure Routing" addresses the challenges posed by Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) such as high latency, frequent disconnections, and unreliable wireless links. The project aims to design a protocol that can optimize routes securely in DTNs, taking into account various types of nodes including well-behaved, selfish, and malicious nodes. A dynamic trust management protocol is proposed to analyze and validate trust in the network through extensive simulations. This protocol is capable of handling selfish nodes and is resilient against trust-related attacks, resulting in a trade-off between message overhead and delay for improved delivery ratio. Compared to existing Bayesian trust-based routing and PROPHET protocols, the proposed technique demonstrates superior performance in terms of delivery ratio and message delay without introducing high overhead.

This research falls under the categories of NS2 Based Thesis and Projects, specifically in the subcategory of Mobile Computing Thesis. The software used for this project includes NS2 for simulation and analysis.

Application Area for Industry

The project on dynamic trust management for Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) has the potential to be applied in various industrial sectors such as transportation, logistics, and disaster management. In industries where communication networks face challenges like high latency, frequent disconnections, and unreliable links, such as in remote areas or during natural disasters, this project's proposed solutions can be invaluable. By developing a protocol that can effectively manage trust and optimize routing securely in DTNs, the project can help industries ensure reliable and secure communication even in challenging environments. The ability to identify and handle selfish or malicious nodes while maintaining efficient message delivery can address specific challenges faced by industries relying on DTNs for communication and data transfer. Implementing the proposed dynamic trust management protocol can lead to several benefits for different industrial domains.

For example, in the transportation sector, where real-time communication between vehicles is crucial for improving road safety and traffic management, this protocol can ensure secure and efficient data exchange even in areas with poor network connectivity. In the logistics industry, where tracking and monitoring goods in transit is essential for supply chain management, the protocol can optimize routing and ensure timely delivery by mitigating the impact of network disruptions. Overall, the project's focus on enhancing secure routing in DTNs can have wide-ranging applications across industries that rely on robust communication networks to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Application Area for Academics

This proposed project offers valuable research opportunities for MTech and PHD students in the field of Mobile Computing and Delay Tolerant Networks. By addressing the challenges of secure routing in DTNs through a dynamic trust management protocol, students can explore innovative research methods, simulations, and data analysis for their dissertations, theses, or research papers. This project's relevance lies in its ability to optimize routing in DTNs while considering diverse node behaviors, such as selfish or malicious nodes, and ensuring resilience against trust-related attacks. Students can use the code and literature of this project to study the trade-offs between message overhead, message delay, and delivery ratio in epidemic routing scenarios, leading to more efficient and robust solutions compared to existing trust-based routing protocols like Bayesian trust-based routing and PROPHET. As a result, MTech students and PHD scholars can leverage this project to contribute to advancing the field of Mobile Computing and DTNs, with future scope for further enhancements and applications in secure routing protocols.

Keywords

delay tolerant networks, DTNs, secure routing, trust management, epidemic routing, node behaviors, selfish nodes, malicious nodes, dynamic protocol, Bayesian trust-based routing, PROPHET, message overhead, message delay, delivery ratio, protocol maintenance overhead, network simulation, mobile computing thesis.