Localization of Sybil Nodes with Electro-Acoustic Positioning in VANETs

Sybil attacks are a challenging security threat in ad-hoc and vehicular networks. A malicious node can successfully launch a Sybil attack with high probability. However, the targeted node has difficulty in discriminating whether the neighboring node is a Sybil or an honest node. Furthermore, Sybil attacks may have the grave consequence of compromising network reliability. To this end, we propose a novel method to effectively detect and thwart Sybil attacks through electro-acoustic positioning with context-aware information. By using electro-acoustic positioning, each node accurately verifies nearby Sybil identities, and shares the verified node information with others. As a result, our proposed scheme allows small pieces of information to form a complete picture of the Sybil node distribution. Our extensive simulation results show that our approach outperforms existing solutions in detection of Sybil attacks and provides better accuracy even in relatively sparse networks.