Immediate Data Authentication for Multicast in Resource Constrained Network

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of authentication of multicast data. The TESLA scheme was introduced to provide data authentication for multicast communication over lossy channels. Later, TESLA was further improved to offer immediate authentication of packets and fortifications against denial-of-service attacks. The improved TESLA scheme is efficient and applicable to mobile resource-constrained receivers for authentication of multicast data. The resource limitation of mobile resource-constrained receivers gives additional challenges to multicast authentication. In this paper, a denial-of-service attack called the Random-Substitution attack is presented. We present a new scheme that can provide immediate packet authentication and deter the Random-Substitution attack. It is also robust against packet losses. In addition, the new scheme allows a receiver to immediately authenticate all packets upon arrival, when the receiver joins the multicast communication. Hence, the new scheme offers a practical multicast authentication solution for resource-constrained receivers.