Pseudonym Schemes in Vehicular Networks: A Survey

TLDR

Safety‑critical vehicular networks require node and message authentication while preserving driver privacy, and pseudonymity has emerged as a key solution. This survey examines the challenges and requirements of pseudonym mechanisms, proposes an abstract lifecycle, and categorizes existing solutions. It reviews pseudonym schemes using public‑key, identity‑based, group signatures, and symmetric authentication, compares them, surveys standardization efforts, and highlights open research challenges.

Abstract

Safety-critical applications in cooperative vehicular networks require authentication of nodes and messages. Yet, privacy of individual vehicles and drivers must be maintained. Pseudonymity can satisfy both security and privacy requirements. Thus, a large body of work emerged in recent years, proposing pseudonym solutions tailored to vehicular networks. In this survey, we detail the challenges and requirements for such pseudonym mechanisms, propose an abstract pseudonym lifecycle, and give an extensive overview and categorization of the state of the art in this research area. Specifically, this survey covers pseudonym schemes based on public key and identity-based cryptography, group signatures and symmetric authentication. We compare the different approaches, give an overview of the current state of standardization, and identify open research challenges.