Advanced certificate distribution strategies for secure car-to-X communication with realistic simulations

State-of-the-art security mechanisms used in more common architectures such as message authentication can be (and already are) deployed in vehicular communication systems. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the digital certificate distribution strategies for vehicular communication systems standardized by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This is done with the help of self-designed simulations that allow to realize different road networks with realistic traffic and mobility models as well as to analyze the emergent communication behaviors with own measurement methods and performance metrics. After pointing out the abundances and vulnerabilities in the standardized ones, two new distribution strategies that adapt themselves according to the current network and communication conditions are introduced and evaluated as the final step.