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Unchained Identities: Putting a Price on Sybil Nodes in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

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Security and Privacy in Communication Networks (SecureComm 2018)

Abstract

As mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and similar decentralized, self-organizing networks grow in number and popularity, they become worthwhile targets for attackers. Sybil attacks are a widespread issue for such networks and can be leveraged to increase the impact of other attacks, allowing attackers to threaten the integrity of the whole network. Authentication or identity management systems that prevent users from setting up arbitrary numbers of nodes are often missing in MANETs. As a result, attackers are able to introduce nodes with a multitude of identities into the network, thereby controlling a substantial fraction of the system and undermining its functionality and security. Additionally, MANETs are often partitioned and lack Internet access. As a result, implementing conventional measures based on central authorities is difficult. This paper fills the gap by introducing a decentralized blockchain-based identity system called Unchained. Unchained binds identities of nodes to addresses on a blockchain and economically disincentivizes the production of spurious identities by raising the costs of placing large numbers of Sybil identities in a network. Care is taken to ensure that circumventing Unchained results in costs similar or higher than following the protocol. We describe an offline verification scheme, detail the functionalities of the concept, discuss upper- and lower-bounds of security guarantees and evaluate Unchained based on case-studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Computer Science, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

    Arne Bochem, Benjamin Leiding & Dieter Hogrefe

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  1. Arne Bochem
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  2. Benjamin Leiding
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  3. Dieter Hogrefe
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Correspondence to Arne Bochem .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klaus Advanced Computing Building, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Raheem Beyah

  2. Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Bing Chang

  3. School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Yingjiu Li

  4. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Sencun Zhu

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© 2018 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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Bochem, A., Leiding, B., Hogrefe, D. (2018). Unchained Identities: Putting a Price on Sybil Nodes in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. In: Beyah, R., Chang, B., Li, Y., Zhu, S. (eds) Security and Privacy in Communication Networks. SecureComm 2018. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 254. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01701-9_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01701-9_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01701-9

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