A Distributed Trust Diffusion Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a distributed trust diffusion protocol for ad hoc networks that combines direct experiences and opinions from other nodes, validated through simulations against various attacks.

Contribution

It presents a novel trust management protocol that integrates self-assessment and peer opinions, enhancing robustness in ad hoc networks.

Findings

Protocol effectively manages trust diffusion.

Robust against coalitions, Trojan, and detonator attacks.

Simulations validate its reliability and security.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose and evaluate a distributed protocol to manage trust diffusion in ad hoc networks. In this protocol, each node i maintains a \trust value" about an other node j which is computed both as a result of the exchanges with node j itself and as a function of the opinion that other nodes have about j. These two aspects are respectively weighted by a trust index that measures the trust quality the node has in its own experiences and by a trust index representing the trust the node has in the opinions of the other nodes. Simulations have been realized to validate the robustness of this protocol against three kinds of attacks: simple coalitions, Trojan attacks and detonator attacks.