Talking to Strangers: Authentication in Ad-Hoc Wireless Networks. 论文

摘要

In this paper we address the problem of secure commu-nication and authentication in ad-hoc wireless networks. This is a difficult problem, as it involves bootstrapping trust between strangers. We present a user-friendly solution, which provides secure authentication using almost any es-tablished public-key-based key exchange protocol, as well as inexpensive hash-based alternatives. In our approach, devices exchange a limited amount of public information over a privileged side channel, which will then allow them to complete an authenticated key exchange protocol over the wireless link. Our solution does not require a public key infrastructure, is secure against passive attacks on the privileged side channel and all attacks on the wireless link, and directly captures users ’ intuitions that they want to talk to a particular previously unknown device in their physical proximity. We have implemented our system in Java for a variety of different devices, communication media, and key exchange protocols. 1.