V-Tokens for Conditional Pseudonymity in VANETs

Privacy is an important requirement in vehicle networks, because vehicles broadcast detailed location information. Also of importance is accountability due to safety critical applications. Conditional pseudonymity, i.e., usage of resolvable pseudonyms, is a common approach to address both. Often, resolvability of pseudonyms is achieved by authorities maintaining pseudonym- identity mappings. However, these mappings are privacy sensitive and require strong protection to prevent abuse or leakage. We present a new approach that does not rely on pseudonym-identity mappings to be stored by any party. Resolution information is directly embedded in pseudonyms and can only be accessed when multiple authorities cooperate. Our privacy-preserving pseudonym issuance protocol ensures that pseudonyms contain valid resolution information but prevents issuing authorities from creating pseudonym-identity mappings.