An Efficient Blockchain-Enabled Architecture for Secure Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication

Abstract

Vehicles can communicate critical safety messages in real time through Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). However, these networks are affected by security, privacy, and scalability challenges, mainly due to the centralized approach of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems. To address these challenges, this paper presents a secure and efficient Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication system based on Blockchain and Ethereum Smart Contracts. This system decentralizes identity management with tamper-proof vehicle registration, provides anonymity through pseudonym rotation, in which the vehicle’s identity changes periodically and ensures accountability with penalties for malicious actions. This system uses the concept of digital signature-based message authentication and evaluates it using both Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) algorithms. Performance results show that RSA has faster verification time compared to ECC, making RSA more efficient for real-time V2V messaging. Furthermore, the proposed system uses InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) for efficient storage of data in the system, reducing the storage load of the blockchain. Thus, this architecture improves trust, privacy, and efficiency in V2V communication and be adopted for the development of secure Internet of Vehicles (IoV) systems.