Secure Data Transmission Protocol Using VANET

Abstract

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) play a crucial role in enabling intelligent transportation systems through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. However, the dynamic and decentralized nature of VANETs makes them highly vulnerable to security threats such as eavesdropping, message tampering, and replay attacks. This project presents a Python-based implementation of a secure data transmission protocol tailored for decentralized VANET environments, incorporating robust mechanisms for authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and replay attack prevention. The proposed system utilizes RSA public-key cryptography for secure key exchange and AES symmetric encryption for efficient data protection during transmission. A simulated Road Side Unit (RSU) acts as a trusted authenticator that verifies vehicle identities and decrypts messages. To safeguard against replay attacks, each transmitted message includes a timestamp and nonce, which are validated at the RSU upon receipt. The system is integrated into a GUI built using Tkinter, featuring modules for vehicle registration, certificate validation, encrypted message exchange, replay detection, and blockchain-based logging. Experimental results confirm that the system performs real-time encryption and decryption efficiently, accurately detects replay attacks, and maintains low transmission latency. The modular architecture and visual interface make the solution suitable for testing, research, and future deployment in secure VANET communication frameworks.