Impersonation Attack Using Quantum Shor’s Algorithm Against Blockchain-Based Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network

Blockchain-based Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is widely considered a secure communication architecture for a connected transportation system. With the advent of quantum computing, there are concerns regarding the vulnerability of this architecture against attack algorithms implemented in a quantum computer. In this study, a potential threat is investigated in a blockchain-based VANET with an impersonation attack utilizing Shor’s algorithm implemented in a quantum computer. Specifically, the impersonation attack using Shor’s algorithm is created by compromising the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) encrypted digital signatures of VANET, and thus a threat to the trust-based blockchain scheme of VANET is successfully established. We implemented an integrated simulation platform combining OMNET++, vehicles-in-network simulation (VEINS), and simulation of urban mobility (SUMO) traffic simulator. In addition, we incorporated vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication in OMNET++ using the extended INET library. An impersonation attack on a blockchain-based VANET is implemented using IBM Qiskit, which is an open-source quantum software development kit. The findings reveal that an impersonation attack is feasible on the Blockchain-based VANET, which compromises the trust chain of a blockchain-based VANET. This research highlights the need for a quantum-secured blockchain for VANET.