T-VNets: A novel trust architecture for vehicular networks using the standardized messaging services of ETSI ITS

In this paper we propose a novel trust establishment architecture fully compliant with the ETSI ITS standard which takes advantage of the periodically exchanged beacons (i.e. CAM) and event triggered messages (i.e. DENM). Our solution, called T-VNets, allows estimating the traffic density, the trust among entities, as well as the dishonest nodes distribution within the network. In addition, by combining different trust metrics such as direct, indirect, event-based and RSU-based trust, T-VNets is able to eliminate dishonest nodes from all network operations while selecting the best paths to deliver legal data messages by taking advantage of the link duration concept. Since our solution is able to adapt to environments with or without roadside units (RSUs), it can perform adequately both in urban and highway scenarios. Simulation results evidence that our proposal is more efficient than other existing solutions, being able to sustain performance levels even in worst-case scenarios.