A Lightweight Security Authentication Protocol for VANET Traffic Emergency Message Broadcasting

In the development of intelligent transportation systems, Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET) have become a key technology to enhance road safety and driving convenience. However, VANET still faces some challenges and limitations in practical applications. To address the issue that traditional cross-domain identity authentication generally relies on Roadside Units (RSUs) for assistance, we designed a hierarchical management mechanism to achieve identity authentication between vehicles belonging to different trusted centers. Considering the instability of cellular networks, particularly the potential disruption of authentication in the absence of network coverage, we selected the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication technology to meet the broadcasting communication needs in emergencies. Moreover, to alleviate the issues of algorithmic complexity and high latency in authentication communication between vehicles in VANET, we proposed a lightweight authentication protocol suitable for V2V communication in VANETs, which ensures security and efficiency while enhancing the protection of vehicle and user privacy. Through rigorous security analysis and proofs, this protocol meets the security and privacy protection requirements for V2V communication. Performance comparison results indicate that our protocol is lightweight and efficient.