Security scheme for ad-hoc networks

Wireless ad-hoc networking introduces a new network model with new opportunities and new security challenges. In this document, an implementation of IP Security (IPSec) on an ad-hoc network is discussed. The ad-hoc network taken into consideration consists of mobile nodes, possibly moving in a hostile (from the security point of view) environment. One of the nodes is the ad-hoc gateway that has to forward the ad-hoc network traffic to Internet through an infrastructure gateway using the IPSec protocol suite. The model's objective is the reaction of the ad-hoc network itself in a dynamic situation where the ad-hoc gateway either has poor signal quality or fails to perform its basic task. In that case a secure and seamless handover must take place involving the election of a new gateway node from the remaining nodes of the ad-hoc group.