Self-nominating trust model based on hierarchical fuzzy systems for peer-to-peer networks

Security is one of the most critical constraints for the expansion of P2P networks. The autonomy, dynamic and distribution natures benefit both valid and malicious users. Exploiting a reputation-based trust model is a feasible solution in such an open environment to build trust relationship among peers. While most of the existing trust models focus on decreasing the abuse, intentions and sharing capabilities of peers are mostly ignored. In this paper, we present a self-nominating trust model based on Hierarchical Fuzzy Systems to quantify the activities of peers. We integrate the reputation based on eight factors. Three promising factors are provided by resource holder to demonstrate their desires. Four capability factors are recorded by requester to identify the provider's service capability. In addition, another security factor is adopted to evaluate the peers' trust on security. Experiments illustrate that our trust model improves the efficiency and security of P2P systems.