DiscoverFriends: Secure Social Network Communication in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

TL;DR

DiscoverFriends is a secure, privacy-preserving social networking app for mobile ad hoc networks that uses innovative cryptographic techniques and implements the first multi-hop WiFi direct protocol on Android with IPv6.

Contribution

It introduces a novel secure communication framework for mobile ad hoc social networks utilizing Bloom filters, hybrid encryption, and Function Secret Sharing, along with an Android multi-hop WiFi direct protocol.

Findings

Successfully implemented and evaluated the first Android multi-hop WiFi direct protocol with IPv6.

Demonstrated secure friend identification and anonymous location check-ins.

Enhanced privacy and security in mobile ad hoc social networks.

Abstract

This paper presents a secure communication application called DiscoverFriends. Its purpose is to securely communicate to a group of online friends while bypassing their respective social networking servers under a mobile ad hoc network environment. DiscoverFriends leverages Bloom filters and a hybrid encryption technique with a self-organized public-key management scheme to securely identify friends and provide authentication. Additionally, DiscoverFriends enables anonymous location check-ins by utilizing a new cryptographic primitive called Function Secret Sharing. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, DiscoverFriends implements and evaluates the first Android multi-hop WiFi direct protocol using IPv6.