Communication Security Enhancement in Application Layer Multicast Networks Group

Abstract

Application-Layer Multicast (ALM) networks has designed to overcome the propagation issue of IP multicast, as they build a overlay tree composed of end-to-end unicast connections based on the cooperation of group members with each other. With the rise of cyber-attacks, group communication security and group key confidentiality in these networks has become critical to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data, especially in military applications that rely on Drone-assisted VANET. This poses challenges in terms of building lightweight key management and distribution protocols, and achieving security when devices join or leave the group in dynamic environments.

This research aims to develop Arrows in a Quiver (AinQ), the key management and distribution protocol, to improve the security of group communication in different networks by minimizing key generation and rekeying time, especially in highly dynamic groups. Also, examining group key randomization as a mechanism that makes key prediction difficult for unauthorized parties, adding an additional layer of protection to group communications and reducing the chances of session compromise or message decryption.