A survey on software-defined vehicular networks (SDVNs): a security perspective

Smart transportation systems have been the focus of research due to the development of smart cities. However, existing vehicular networks are not sufficient enough to fulfill the vision of futuristic smart cities due to limited flexibility, scalability, poor connection, and insufficient intelligence. These technological hurdles make the role of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) very important to improve the overall performance of the existing vehicular networks considering the unique properties of SDN such as Decoupling of network planes and Real-time network programming. This leads to the development of Software-Defined Vehicular Networks (SDVNs). SDVNs help to realize the development of smart transportation systems which further helps to optimize the vision of truly smart cities. However, the security remains a consistent concern due to the increased mobility, larger attack surface, and improvised future attack vector. This work includes the different design components, and offers a detailed survey to understand different security issues including the architectural and functional ones. Additionally, multiple security solutions are discussed including Service-based, Infrastructure-based, and Application-based solutions. Furthermore, the work also covers the possible challenges in the development of SDVNs based on Improved Architectural Development, Holistic Integration, Effective Orchestration, Environmental Volatility Handling, Global Network Management, Efficient Components/Technologies Integration, Diverse Security Offerings, and Design Issues’ Maintenance. Lastly, the work highlights the resultant opportunities based on Application, Open Research, Network Management, Device Configuration, Traffic Management, QoS, and Efficient Routing.