Context-Aware Trust Management for Peer-to-Peer Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are self-organizing and adaptive, and securing such networks is non-trivial. Most security schemes suggested for MANETs tend to build upon some fundamental assumptions regarding the trustworthiness of the participating hosts and the underlying networking systems without presenting any definite scheme for trust establishment. If MANET is to achieve the same level of acceptance as traditional wired and wireless network, then a formal specification of trust and a framework for trust management must become an intrinsic part of its infrastructure. The goal of this paper is to highlight issues relating to trust in MANETs and describe a context-aware, reputation-based approach for establishing trust that assesses the trustworthiness of the participating nodes in a dynamic and uncertain MANET environment.