Identity-based key management in mobile ad hoc networks: techniques and applications [dependability in the ubiquitous wireless access]

Security is one of the major issues in MANETs. Their natural characteristics make them vulnerable to numerous severe attacks. It is widely acknowledged that cryptography provides a set of strong techniques against most vulnerabilities. Several cryptographic mechanisms for MANETs can be found in the literature. Among them, identity-based cryptographic mechanisms and key management schemes are proposed to simplify key management and to reduce the memory storage cost. This article presents the most important ID-based key management schemes, discussing their approaches, strengths, and weaknesses, and comparing their main features. It also presents the main IDbased key management application fields on MANETs. In this way it can be useful for users and researchers as a starting point on ID-based key management and its possible uses in MANETs.