An efficient attribute-based encryption algorithm for ad hoc networks

An efficient attribute-based encryption algorithm is proposed to solve the problem that it is inefficient to encrypt and transmit sensitive message in ad hoc networks. The use of the access control policy that only allows users with the attributes above one threshold to decrypt message results in group decryption. The discrete Fourier transform is used to share secret key, such that the shares of the secret key are issued to users over open channel; Users use the inverse discrete Fourier transform to recover the secret key, such that decryption has a fault tolerance and the time complexity of decryption is reduced. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only reduces the energy consumption of the node in ad hoc networks, but also has an ignorable delay in transmitting message, thus it is suitable for application to ad hoc networks.