Security in the MIDAS Middleware

Abstract

Security in Mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) is difficult because of its operating environment and its lack of a central control unit, making classical security measures inapplicable. MIDAS is a project funded by the European Commission which creates a "Middleware platform for developing and deploying advanced mobile services". It is important for MIDAS to find a middle ground where it provides reasonable security, while using little extra processing power and battery and remains easy to use. In this thesis we identify the vulnerabilities and security measures needed to secure MIDAS, while preserving usability. We approach this problem by analysing the MIDAS design and find similarities to other known systems. From the analysis we identify threats and ethical issues, and suggest security mechanisms that solve MIDAS specific problems. The resulting security mechanisms are described in detail and tied together to create four main configurations with increasing levels of security. The configurations can then be used by MIDAS developers to implement security in a consistent way. The results are specific to MIDAS, but issues, requirements and security building blocks can be used by other projects for applicable MANET problems.