Shared RSA key generation in an mobile ad hoc network

Abstract

The use of a threshold certificate authority to provide cryptographic key management in mobile ad hoc networks has been suggested in the literature. We have designed and implemented such a key management service for our ad hoc networking test bed. In this paper we describe our use of distributed shared RSA key generation techniques to create a threshold certificate authority 'from scratch'. Our goal is to create a scaleable key management solution, which does not rely on prior infrastructure for its inception, and as such is formed in a truly ad hoc manner, compatible with the formation of the network itself.