Secure Mobile Ad-hoc Routing in Maritime Environments

The need for secure and reliable ship-to-ship communication in maritime environments is growing. Because maintaining a centralized infrastructure in this environment is difficult, experimentation is being done on a mobile ad-hoc network called MaritimeManet. Currently, the routing protocol that will be used in MaritimeManet is yet to be determined. MaritimeManet uses multiple directional antennas for each node, which may influence the security of the network in unexpected ways and require the use of a specific routing protocol. We investigate how wireless and routing security risks are affected under MaritimeManet’s unique setup, and which consequences this may have for the choice of a routing protocol. Based on these consequences, security requirements for a routing protocol are drafted, and a protocol is chosen that best satisfies these security and practical concerns. This protocol is then implemented in an experimental setup in order to evaluate its use in MaritimeManet.