EMAO-MTRUST: A Robust Trust-Based Routing Protocol with Emergency Handling for Secure and Efficient VANETs
TL;DR
The potential of the EMAO-MTRUST protocol to secure VANETs against malicious activities while maintaining high-quality performance is highlighted, making it a promising solution for the challenges in ITS applications.
Abstract
: Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) play a vital role in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), a key application of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). However, the functionality of these networks can be compromised by environmental challenges and malicious attacks, such as black hole and flooding attacks, which degrade network performance. To address these challenges, this paper introduces the Emergency Module with Ant Colony Optimization-based Multi-hop Trusted Routing Protocol (EMAO-MTRUST) for VANETs. The proposed protocol enhances network security and efficiency by integrating trust-based mechanisms and intelligent routing strategies. EMAO-MTRUST employs direct and indirect trust models to identify and isolate malicious nodes, ensuring reliable packet transmission. Trust computations are used to select a border node with the highest trust value for forwarding data packets. An Emergency Module is incorporated to handle critical situations, leveraging a hybrid approach that combines Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) models. The Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is utilized to determine the most efficient routing path between nodes, optimizing the network's performance. The protocol ꞌ s effectiveness is evaluated through simulations, comparing it to existing methods in the presence of black hole and flooding attacks. Key performance metrics, including packet delivery ratio, end-to-end latency, network throughput, and energy efficiency, are assessed. Results demonstrate that EMAO-MTRUST significantly outperforms existing approaches, delivering higher packet delivery ratios, reduced latency, improved throughput, and enhanced energy efficiency. This study highlights the potential of the EMAO-MTRUST protocol to secure VANETs against malicious activities while maintaining high-quality performance, making it a promising solution for the challenges in ITS applications.