A Novel Multipath Approach to Security in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs)

In this paper, we present a novel encryption-less algorithm to enhance security in transmission of data packets across mobile ad hoc networks. The paper hinges on the paradigm of multipath routing and exploits the properties of polynomials. The first step in the algorithm is to transform the data such that it is impossible to obtain any information without possessing the entire transformed data. The algorithm then uses an intuitively simple idea of a jigsaw puzzle to break the transformed data into multiple packets where these packets form the pieces of the puzzle. Then these packets are sent along disjoint paths to reach the receiver. A secure and efficient mechanism is provided to convey the information that is necessary for obtaining the original data at the receiver-end from its fragments in the packets, that is, for solving the jigsaw puzzle. The algorithm is designed to be secure so that no intermediate or unintended node can obtain the entire data. An authentication code is also used to ensure authenticity of every packet.