The document proposes a mechanism for establishing trust-based secure routes for data communication between mobile nodes in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). It aims to dynamically increase the trust level between nodes from low to high using proxy nodes. When nodes need to securely communicate, they will generate dynamic secret session keys either directly or through proxy nodes using message digest and Diffie-Hellman protocols. The mechanism is implemented on reactive routing protocols and finds routes through trusted intermediate nodes that share secret keys. This may result in non-optimal routes but guarantees security. It also describes how a new node can join and how trusted nodes can act as proxies to help other nodes establish shared keys.
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