Leveraging SDN: Empirical Evaluation of Privacy Enriched Data Communication over VANET Using Software Defined Network Assistance

In the realm of modern transportation systems, Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) play a pivotal role in enabling efficient communication among vehicles and infrastructure elements for enhanced road safety and traffic management. However, the inherent vulnerabilities in VANETs, such as privacy breaches and security threats, necessitate robust frameworks to mitigate risks and ensure secure data transmission. This paper presents a comprehensive architecture for Privacy-Enriched Data Communication over VANETs using Software-Defined Network (SDN) assistance. The proposed framework integrates key components including vehicles, Roadside Units (RSUs), and SDN controllers to facilitate secure and privacy-aware communication. Vehicles act as data sources, employing pseudonyms and encryption mechanisms to protect user privacy. RSUs serve as access points, collecting and relaying data while enforcing access control policies. SDN controllers provide centralized management, dynamically allocating resources and enforcing privacy policies through encryption, pseudonymization, and access control mechanisms. Communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11p and LTE enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, while the OpenFlow protocol facilitates communication between SDN controllers and network devices. Additionally, trust management mechanisms evaluate the trustworthiness of network entities based on behavioral analysis, reliability metrics, and security considerations, ensuring the integrity and resilience of the network. By amalgamating SDN-based management with privacy enhancement mechanisms and trust management protocols, the proposed framework offers a robust solution for addressing privacy and security challenges in VANETs, thereby fostering safer and more secure transportation ecosystems.