K. Satheshkumar, S. Ramalingam, A. Suresh Babu, S. Murugesan
ABSTRACT Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are essential components of intelligent transportation systems that facilitate realâtime communication between vehicles (V2V) and between vehicles and infrastructure (V2I). Despite their importance, VANETs face challenges, such as high node mobility, energy limitations, security risks, and everâchanging network topologies. Existing clustering and routing algorithms often struggle to manage the instability caused by mobility, energy disparities, and secure congestionâfree communication simultaneously. To address these challenges, this work introduced an integrated crossâlayer framework featuring three innovative algorithms: mobilityâaware black hole clustering (MâBHC), energyâaware piranha optimization algorithm (EPOA), and crossâlayer multiâattribute blockchain routing with congestion control (CLâMABRC). The MâBHC algorithm enhances the stability of clusters and counters blackâhole attacks by forming clusters dynamically based on realâtime vehicle mobility patterns. EPOA optimizes the selection of cluster heads (CHs) by reducing energy consumption through a bioâinspired resource allocation strategy modeled on piranha predation behavior. CLâMABRC addresses network congestion and security using blockchainâbased verification and crossâlayer routing decisions informed by multiâattribute metrics. Extensive simulations were conducted with a setting of 100 veh/km 2 . The proposed framework showed significant performance improvements over benchmark protocols, such as optimal securityâaware clusterâbased hybrid geographical and opportunistic routing (OSCâGOR), enhanced locationâaided ant colony routing (ELAACR), trustâbased multiâobjective honey badger algorithm (TMOHBA), and robust cryptographic scheme for reliable data communication (RCSRC). It achieved a throughput of 99.89 Kbps, endâtoâend delay of 3.9 ms, collision rate of 21.8%, energy consumption of 41.98%, and jitter of 0.05 ms. Together, the MâBHC, EPOA, and CLâMABRC algorithms create a robust, energyâefficient, and secure communication framework for VANETs, enhancing scalability, reliability, and realâtime performance in transportation systems.
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are widely used in critical applications such as environmental monitoring, healthcare, industrial automation, and military surveillance; however, their resource constraints, wireless communication, and unattended deployment make them highly vulnerable to node capture attacks.In such attacks, adversaries physically compromise sensor nodes to extract cryptographic keys and sensitive information, leading to key leakage, node impersonation, communication disruption, and large-scale network compromise.Existing key management schemes often rely on static key structures, they lack forward secrecy, and fail to identify structurally vulnerable nodes, resulting in weak resilience against progressive node capture attacks.To address these limitations, this paper proposes a threshold-based ECDHE-TSSS key management framework to detect vulnerable nodes and mitigate node capture attacks in WSNs.The proposed scheme introduces an attack matrix based on graph-theoretic metrics to identify high-risk nodes and provide adaptive protection through decentralized masking of secret shares.The Proposed Scheme integrates Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral (ECDHE) with Threshold Shamir Secret Sharing (TSSS) to achieve forward secrecy and strong resistance against node compromise while maintaining lightweight operations suitable for resource-constrained environments.A layered security architecture incorporating Schnorr-based Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Proof (NIZKP) authentication and distributed key revocation further enhances network resilience and secure communication.Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly reduces key compromise probability and improves overall network robustness compared with existing approaches.
Nirmalkumar S. Benni, G. C. Jagan, C. Tamizhselvan, Manjunath G. Asuti
Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, also known as MANETs, are complex Cyber-Physical Systems which require a reliable and secure infrastructure due to the enormous amounts of data that are generated by users. MANETs are a collective term that refers to all Internet-enabled gadgets, sensors, and actuators, regardless of whether or not each of these components is linked to mobile networks. There is the potential for even a single high-tech mobile device to generate enormous volumes of data. During the course of this research, Distributed Ledger Technology is investigated, and information is gathered on consensus procedures and the possible applications of these techniques in MANETs, which are the basis of wireless networks. At the moment, there are a number of distributed ledger networks that are operational. There are a variety of decentralized applications; some are more often seen in the financial sector or supply chains. The blockchain may be decentralized and safe, but there are costs and benefits to using any of these networks. A consensus method that meets the needs of MANETs may be designed using the results of this investigation.
Rithika S, Thrisha S, Uma Mageshwari M, Vaishali D ¡ 5 authors
Peer-to-peer (P2P) interaction forms a foundational layer of Web3 ecosystems, enabling participants to exchange data directly without depending on centralized brokers. In practical deployments, however, end-to-end reachability is often obstructed by network address translation, firewalls, and transient routing paths, which pushes architects toward the use of intermediate relay nodes. Unfortunately, relays that behave inconsistently or act maliciously can introduce a range of undesirable effects, including dropped packets, elevated latency, selective forwarding, and denial-of-service conditions. To mitigate these risks, this work presents a reputation-aware relay selection framework that lever-ages a blockchain substrate to govern trust. Every participant in the overlay is issued a cryptographic identity; the quality of service delivered by each relay is then tracked at runtime through metrics such as delivery ratio, round-trip delay, and transmission failure rate. A smart contract layer aggregates these observations into a dynamic reputation score that is recorded on an immutable ledger. When a communication session is being established, relays with higher reputation are preferred, while those exhibiting suspicious or degraded behavior are deprioritized or excluded. Experimental results indicate that, compared with conventional relay-selection strategies, the proposed approach delivers higher reliability, lower effective latency, and stronger resistance to malicious participation, making it a practical candidate for secure Web3 P2P communication.
Lyudmila Kovalchuk, Mariia Rodinko, Roman Oliynykov, Volodymyr Artemchuk
This paper studies the probability of a double-spend attack in an Ouroboros-like Proof-of-Stake (PoS) setting when confirmation decisions must be made for a finite number of blocks. Existing security analyses of Ouroboros-family protocols are mainly asymptotic and therefore do not directly provide the attack probability for a fixed confirmation depth. We consider an analytically tractable model that allows empty slots and multiple slot leaders, and assumes fixed stake distribution within an epoch, one-block growth of the public longest chain in any slot containing at least one honest leader, and next-slot block visibility. These assumptions hold when the time slot length is much greater than the network delay, and are applicable to practical deployment scenarios such as Cardano. Under these assumptions, for the first time, an exact closed-form solution for the success probability of a double-spend attack considering a realistic model with multiple leaders and empty time slots. Numerical examples illustrate how the required confirmation depth depends on the adversarial stake ratio and the active slot coefficient. The results apply to the stated analytical model and do not yet cover delayed fork resolution or the full protocol-level fork-choice and finality mechanisms of Ouroboros Praos.
Reliable voice communication is vital throughout the institutions and organizations, but it is prone to the failures of internet connectivity and cellular network in constrained or isolated settings. Our physical system is a SIM-less intranet calling platform that is going to be implemented on a Raspberry Pi based on the open-source Asterisk PBX platform to provide the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communication between SIP-based clients. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) takes care of the registration of the user, call setup, and signalling, whereas Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) takes care of a data transfer, providing stable peer-to-peer communication. Softphone applications like Zoiper are used to make the connection to the users and authentication is done with the help of Asterisk configuration files like sip.conf and extensions. conf. The viability of using embedded platforms to power safe and decentralized intranet telephony was confirmed by the result of experimental tests that confirmed good connectivity, low developing latency, and audible performance. A solution suggested can be applied to campuses, laboratories, small businesses, and emergency operation where the constant use of the internal communication network is needed and does not rely on the public network. This work will help to develop autonomous VoIP communication structures which make them more robust, private, and affordable by combining low-cost hardware and open-source software.
Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) are networks based on short-range wireless communication technology, mainly used for direct communication between vehicles and interaction with roadside infrastructures. The emergence of VANETs has improved the efficiency and safety of vehicle travel. However, malicious vehicles may intentionally send incorrect messages to mislead other vehicles for personal gain, and this behavior cannot be identified yet. To address this issue, we propose an efficient, identifiable, and abortable multi-party signature scheme for VANETs. Specifically, we utilize the property of zero-knowledge proofs to design a method that can efficiently identify malicious vehicles during the signature process, and define a strategy to quickly locate false proofs. Additionally, the message signing key in the proposed scheme is jointly generated by multiple entities, which avoids the security issues of key escrow and single point failure. Through rigorous security analysis, it is demonstrated that the proposed scheme satisfies essential security requirements for VANETs, including message unforgeability and authentication, vehicle anonymity, malicious traceability, collusion resistance, replay attack resistance, identifiable abort, and forward security of signing private key. Performance analysis shows that our scheme reduces the total aggregation verification time by up to 80% compared to existing schemes, and maintains a lower packet loss rate ($< $0.6%) at higher vehicle densities. Therefore, our scheme is suitable for large-scale VANETs deployments.
Ru Li, Jie Cui, Lu Wei, Irina Bolodurina ¡ 6 authors
In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), distributed identity authentication provides the foundation for securing sessions among entities over wireless channels while eliminating single points of failure. However, existing distributed authentica tion schemes for VANETs typically make unrealistic assumptions about node reliability and trustworthiness, failing to account for scenarios where authentication nodes may be compromised or collude with vehicles. Moreover, these schemes expose the com munication process to linkability attacks while allowing vehicles to self-register their public keys. To address these limitations, we propose a privacy-preserving and accountable distributed collab orative authentication scheme for VANETs that is resilient to ma licious nodes. Using threshold signature techniques, distributed authentication nodes collaboratively perform decentralized ve hicle identity authentication using a predefined threshold. Zero knowledge proof protects the privacy of the signing process while maintaining accountability and effectively preventing malicious behavior by nodes under external or internal adversarial attacks. Furthermore, vehicles self-register their public keys via smart contracts and blockchain technology, ensuring anonymity and unlinkability during registration while enabling the traceability of malicious vehicles. Security and performance analyses show that the proposed scheme enhances the security and robustness of distributed collaborative authentication in VANETs, achieving a better balance between computational and communication costs than existing schemes
Vehicle platoon, an increasingly significant technology in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), effectively reduces energy consumption and environmental pollution, mitigates traffic congestion, and enhances road capacity and traffic safety. Collaborative communication between platoons is available to promote the reliability of data dissemination, ameliorate driving strategies, and further strengthen traffic efficiency. Nevertheless, existing efforts for secure multi-platoon data dissemination still face the following issues: (i) lack of a direct authorization strategy for platoons working on different systems; (ii) no effective mechanism to protect vehicle privacy during platoon communications; (iii) absence of a practical verification approach for cross-system ciphertext transformation. This paper builds a privacy-preserving and verifiable cross-system authorization (PVCA) scheme to mitigate the above issues. Specifically, we first put forth the optimized anonymous identity-based broadcast encryption (IBBE) and policy-hiding attribute-based encryption (ABE) protocols to adapt platoon communications while protecting identity and attribute privacy. After that, the authorized token bridging the proposed protocols is designed to enable ciphertexts of IBBE format to be transformed into new ciphertexts of ABE format, enabling flexible authorization. Furthermore, inspired by the Fujisaki-Okamoto transformation, we devise an efficient zero knowledge proof of knowledge protocol, making our PVCA achieve verifiability and fairness. Rigorous security proof and analysis demonstrate that our PVCA is not only secure against chosen plaintext attacks and collusion attacks, but also satisfies the necessary security requirements. We implement a prototype of PVCA (on a desktop computer and Raspberry Pi) and provide a simulation utilizing NS-2 to validate its feasibility for platoon communications in VANETs. The results indicate that, compared to the state-of-the-art ciphertext transformation solutions, PVCA reduces the running time for original ciphertext generation, transformation, and decryption by at least 91.57%, 49.87%, and 50%, respectively, while compressing the original ciphertext and authorization token sizes by over 78.07% and 15.20%.
C. Selvan, M. A. Gunavathie, Sini Anna Alex, Shaik Jaffar Hussain
ABSTRACT Appropriate routing strategies are necessary for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) in order to facilitate effective data transfer. In order to counter the prevailing problems, the correct routing schemes will need to be selected as the default configurations are used. In this paper, a special optimal link state routing (OLSR) protocol is proposed to incorporate a deep learning methodology to facilitate efficient video streaming in MANETs. This study presents a new improved variant of the OLSR protocol, which is specially tailored to achieve efficient video streaming in MANETs. It is a radical approach that combines a deepâlearning model with blockchain technology to overcome security and reliability issues. It starts with the gathering of video content that is available publicly. In order to detect blackâhole nodes, a special twinâattentionâbased Elman spiking neural network model is applied. The reliability of the neighboring nodes is then measured by means of trust values. The pufferfish optimization algorithm, or the accuracyâaware energyâefficient multipath routing algorithm (AEMRAP), which takes into account nodeâ and linkâstability degrees, is used in making routing decisions. Interplanetary file system (IPFS) technology is used to store the data on blockchain and increase its security. The authentication of the blockchain architecture is conducted via the delegated proofâofâstake (DPoS) method that also delivers an extra protection of MANETs against unauthorized access. The study demonstrates superior performance in securing and optimizing video transmission, confirming that the extended OLSR protocol is highly effective for MANET video streaming applications. The proposed model exceeds the current approaches with a throughput of 2100 Kbps, an average end latency of 20.2 s, and a packetâdelivery ratio of 92.3%.
Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) play a vital role in enhancing modern transportation systems, facilitating real-time data exchange in dynamic environments. However, VANETs face challenges such as limited range and interference in dense areas. This paper introduces an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-aided reputation-based cluster routing (URCR) protocol to address issues such as improving data transmission, reducing delay, and lowering hop count. The proposed URCR protocol utilizes VANET clustering, UAV-aided communication, and a Proof-of-Stake based cluster head-toggling algorithm to achieve balanced energy consumption. Blockchain-based reputation management is integrated into the protocol to evaluate the trustworthiness of the member nodes and prevent malicious behavior in the VANET. Simulations using Network Simulator 3 show that URCR improves the average hop count by 47.6% and 15.2%, the packet delivery ratio by 22.9% and 4.3%, and the end-to-end delay by 48.8% and 22.3%, compared to drone-assisted cooperative routing (DACR) and VANET routing with UAV assistance (VRU), respectively.
Yu Gao, Carlo Campajola, Nicolò Vallarano, Andreia Sofia Teixeira ¡ 5 authors
IOTA is a distributed ledger technology that relies on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network for communications. Recently an auto-peering algorithm was proposed to build connections among IOTA peers according to their âMana" endowment, which is an IOTA internal reputation system. This paperâs goal is to detect potential vulnerabilities and evaluate the resilience of the P2P network generated using IOTA auto-peering algorithm against eclipse attacks. In order to do so, we interpret IOTAâs auto-peering algorithm as a random network formation model and employ different network metrics to identify cost-efficient partitions of the network. As a result, we present a potential strategy that an attacker can use to eclipse a significant part of the network, providing estimates of costs and potential damage caused by the attack. On the side, we provide an analysis of the properties of IOTA auto-peering network ensemble, as an interesting class of homophile random networks in between 1D lattices and regular Poisson graphs.
Vehicle platoon (VP), as a typical form of traffic cooperation, can significantly enhance traffic efficiency and safety in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs). However, malicious vehicles in VP poses a severe threat to the security of entire VP, requiring to be efficiently traced by identity authentication. In this paper, we propose a lattice-based efficient and traceable privacy-preserving batch authentication scheme for vehicle platoon in VANETs, named LETA. First, we design a dynamic VP identity structure VPD-Tree which is constructed based on hash tree and pseudonyms of vehicles to preserve privacy. Then, an aggregate signature is constructed based on VPD-tree and modular lattice for secure and efficient batch authentication of VP. Finally, Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) is applied on the VPD-Tree structure to anonymously and efficiently trace the malicious vehicles of VP. Security analysis shows that LETA achieves stronger security guarantees, thereby offering a more secure solution than existing approaches. Moreover, performance evaluations show that LETA achieves lower computation and communication overheads through the VPD-tree structure and efficient batch authentication scheme.
Exploration equipment for extreme environments like the Antarctic region constraints in power consumption, size, and weight. Furthermore, unmanned mobile exploration in environments with distributed IoET (Internet of Extreme Things) nodes requires long-range, delay-tolerant wireless communication. For these extreme environments, delay-tolerant communication systems can consider distributed ledgers as a way to record gains and losses to ensure coalition and reliability among nodes. However, Proof-of-Work (PoW), the most widely studied method for securing distributed ledger reliability, is simple to operate but highly energy-consumption. Proof-of-Stake (PoS) offers an energy-efficient alternative. This paper assumes a partially Î-synchronized distributed system model for security analysis in PoS and analyzes the impact of network delays on the system. This analysis is an interpretation to identify methods for securing stability against balance attacks in public systems from the perspective of a partially Î-synchronized model. The proposed technique is a game-theoretic approach that uses honest nodes to form a coalition to control delay. This study investigates the possibility of expanding the upper bound of the security region according to the attacker's occupation rate in a balanced attack by controlling the time delay required for nodes in a partially Î-synchronized communication network to transmit messages to each other.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has made secure and reliable data communication more difficult due to its dynamic topologies, energy constrictions, and intelligent and sophisticated adversaries.To address these difficulties in IoT networks, we propose G-TrustChain, an integrated hybrid framework based on Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for intelligent and dynamic routing and a light Blockchain for distributed trust.G-TrustChain makes use of node-level parameters including latency, remaining energy, and behavioural trust scores derived from a Graph Attention Network (GAT) for routing paths.A lightweight Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)-structure Blockchain maintains trust scores with a distributed, scalable, and tamper-proof ledger that minimizes dependency on a centralized authority.Experimentation is done for 10,000 rounds, G-TrustChain demonstrated superior routing performance to other protocols such as Trust-based Routing, BBTR, and ROUTENET.It is achieving 95.6% packet delivery ratio, 91.2% detection rate of attacks, and energy consumption as low as 0.0110 J/bit.Also achieving more accurate and reliable trust scores despite energy constraints and higher/extensive attacks.These outcomes demonstrated G-TrustChain provides energy-efficient, secure, and intelligent data communication for the next generation of IoT networks.
A MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Network) is a decentralised, infrastructure-less system inherently vulnerable to a variety of security threats due to its dynamic topology and limited resources. In such networks, traditional trust management approaches, which are typically centralised and resource-intensive, do not meet the security requirements. A hybrid Proof-of- Work (Po W)/Proof-of-Stake (PoS) trust framework that takes advantage of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is presented for MANETs. Three factors are considered in calculating the dynamic trust score: node behaviour, energy efficiency, and communication efficiency. As a result of the proposed model, trust evaluation accuracy and transaction validation are enhanced while the computational overhead and latency are minimised. The results show that the system has strong potential for securing and scaling MANET deployments by reducing detection times, controlling overhead, and mitigating the impact of network attacks.
C. Aparna, S. Radha, C. Aarthi, K. M. Karthick Raghunath
ABSTRACT Mobile Ad hoc networks (MANETs) are key for applications in which flexibility and organization are paramount, but the security of such networks entails threats that can exploit the vulnerability of their open architecture, resulting in various attacks. To address such issues, a novel architectural framework is always required. One such framework is introduced, namely, the HoneyFed Secure Architecture (HFSA), which provides the combination of an advanced honey encryption system with federated learningâbased decentralized security to improve the security of MANET. Honey encryption, on the other hand, employs adaptive deception techniques to generate plausible decoy data on decryption failure, employs dynamic key management for tamper resistance, and provides perfect authentication through multiâfactor methods and zeroâknowledge proofs. We found that federated learning offers decentralized model training, where nodes jointly train local models while exchanging progress updates without exposing raw data, enabling 81.4% more detections of emerging threats while preserving data privacy. Using the proposed HFSA approach achieves a 78% protection improvement against attacks and a 71% reduction in unauthorized access. HFSA offers a robust and scalable framework of security that uses continuous learning and adaptation to the vulnerabilities of the MANETs to enhance network resilience.
ABSTRACT The emergence of wireless technology brought about enhanced communication across various devices, resulting in the demand for efficient and reliable wireless networks, like wireless mesh networks (WMNs) and mobile Adâhoc Networks (MANETs). MANETs are known for their decentralized nature, rapid deployment, infrastructureâless operation, adaptability, and ease of use in several applications and outdoor events. Despite their flexibility, they often face challenges relating to security vulnerabilities, together with blackhole and grayhole attacks, and tradeâoffs in terms of performance relating to reliability and integrity. This paper proposes an improved, innovative routing protocol for Adâhoc OnâDemand Distance Vector (AODV) by infusion of blockchain's proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism named PoSAODV, whose objective is to enhance security, energyâefficiency, and adaptability while reducing packet loss rate, routing overheads, and increasing throughput. Smart contractâbased validator selection was utilized to ensure fairness and reduce blackhole and grayhole attacks. The result obtained through simulation demonstrates that PoSAODV outperforms the original AODV by reduced latency of 0.79 ms , average throughput of 45 Mbps , and packet delivery ratio of 80%â100% in both unsafe and safe environments. This makes PoSAODV suitable for resourceâconstrained adâhoc networks with dynamic topologies.
Vijayan Sugumaran, E. Dinesh, R. Ramya, Elangovan Muniyandy
This research work proposes a Distributed Blockchain-Assisted Secure Data Aggregation (Block-DSD) technique for MANETs, ensuring high security and energy efficiency in disaster management scenarios. A Zone-based Clustering Approach (ZCA) is employed to segment the network into secure zones, with optimal Cluster Heads (CHs) selected using the Artificial Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Data aggregation is secured through a Two-Step Secure (STS) method and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), while optimal routing is achieved using the Improved Elephant Herd Optimization (IEHO) algorithm. Simulations using ns-3.25 demonstrate a 97% Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), 20% lower energy consumption compared to existing methods, and minimal latency of 0.0012 s for emergency data, validating the proposed framework's efficiency and robustness in dynamic MANET environments.
M. Baritha Begum, B. Suganthi, P. Sivagamasundhari, S. A. Arunmozhi ¡ 5 authors
ABSTRACT Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT) form a decentralized communication framework crucial for 6G environments. However, ensuring secure and efficient routing in such networks remains a challenge due to their distributed nature and vulnerability to attacks. This paper introduces a heterogeneous local directed acyclic graph blockchain (HLDAGâBC) combined with recalling enhanced recurrent neural networks (RERNNs) for secure and efficient routing in MANETâIoT environments. The HLDAGâBC offers tamperâproof communication and identityâbased conditional privacyâpreserving authentication (ICPA) is a lightweight and secure node authentication scheme. Network nodes are grouped using the kernel neutrosophic câmeans (KNCM) algorithm. The optimal cluster heads are chosen using the red piranha optimization (RPO) method. RERNN determines the shortest routing path to increase reliability and minimize latency. Furthermore, an HDLNN is used for intrusion detection to achieve robust network security. The HLDAGâBCâRERNN approach proposed shows that the packet delivery ratio improves by 31.35%, throughput by 34.56%, latency by 30.29%, and network lifetime by 28.67% compared to the existing approaches, as shown in the comprehensive evaluations. In conclusion, the proposed framework offers a scalable and secure solution for MANETâIoT networks, making it a viable approach for future 6G applications.
Payment Channel Networks (PCNs) can significantly enhance the scalability of blockchain transactions without requiring major modifications to the underlying distributed ledger protocol. However, to enable efficient and secure payment routing over multiple channels, PCNs necessitate additional components: an onion routing protocol for anonymity and a locking mechanism to prevent race conditions. Unfortunately, these mechanisms can be exploited by malicious actors to launch flood and loot attacks. We investigate the impact of flood and loot attacks on networks that employ local knowledge-based routing algorithms. In these scenarios, malicious nodes can manipulate hash-locks to unfairly capitalize on the benefits of participating nodes. We specifically examine the effects of these attacks on three popular routing algorithms: Swift, Speedy Murmurs, and Silent Whispers. Our analysis employs metrics like attack gain, attack cost, and transaction ratio to assess the impact of the attacks. Our simulation-based results demonstrate that, even with a relatively small fraction of malicious nodes (between 0.66% and 3.3%), the average attack transaction ratio across all evaluated routing algorithms is a concerning 16.23%.
The future mobile networks are transforming into multidimensional, adaptive networks, aka beyond 5G (B5G), where the digital services are delivered over network slices whose network definition is virtual. It is also important that such slices are available to users with a wide variety of needs on a safe and efficient basis. The current solutions are mainly aimed at ensuring that things are faster and reliable; however, in the majority of situations, they fail to give much consideration to the security threat from malicious users. This reflection paper examines the limitations of existing approaches and argues for embedding security mechanisms directly within resource allocation frameworks. It explores the integration of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for user verification and integer linear programming (ILP) for secure allocation, forming a unified adversary-aware model. This perspective encourages a shift from purely performance-driven strategies toward security-by-design methods capable of addressing dynamic threats in real time.