A Framework for Key Management Architecture for DTN (KMAD): Requirements and Design

Abstract

Key Management in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) still remains an unsolved complex problem. Due to peculiar characteristics of DTN, important challenges that make it difficult to design key management architecture are: 1) no systematic requirement analysis is undertaken to define its components, their composition and prescribed functions; and 2) no framework is available for its seamless integration with Bundle Security Protocol (BSP). This paper proposes a Key Management Architecture for DTN (KMAD) to address challenges in DTN key management. The proposed architecture not only provides guidelines for key management in DTN but also caters for seamless integration with BSP. The framework utilizes public key cryptography to provide required security services to enable exchange of keying material, and information about security policy and cipher suites. The framework also supports secure exchange of control and data information in DTNs.