A Key Establishment Scheme for Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks Using Post-Deployment Knowledge

Establishment of pairwise keys between sensor nodes in a sensor network is a difficult problem due to resource limitations of sensor nodes as well as vulnerability to physical captures of sensor nodes by the enemy. Public-key cryptosystems are not much suited for most resource-constrained sensor networks. Recently, elliptic curve cryptographic techniques show that public key cryptosystem is also feasible for resource-constrained sensor networks. However, most researchers accept that the symmetric key cryptosystems are viable options for resource-constrained sensor networks. In this paper, we first develop a basic principle to address the key pre-distribution problem in mobile sensor networks. Then, using this developed basic principle, we propose a scheme which takes the advantage of the post-deployment knowledge. Our scheme is a modified version of the key prioritization technique proposed by Liu and Ning. Our improved scheme provides reasonable network connectivity and security. Moreover, the proposed scheme works for any deployment topology.Comment: Published in International Journal of Computer Networks & Communications (IJCNC) Vol.3, No.4, July 201

Dynamic key ring update mechanism for mobile wireless sensor networks

Key distribution is an important issue to provide security in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Many of the key pre-distribution schemes proposed for static WSNs perform poorly when they are applied to Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks (MWSNs). In this paper, we propose Dynamic Key Ring Update (DKRU) mechanism for MWSNs. The aim of DKRU mechanism is to enable sensor nodes to update their key rings periodically during movement, by observing the frequent keys in their neighbors. Our mechanism can be used together with different key pre-distribution schemes and it helps to increase the performance of them. For the performance evaluation basis, we used our mechanism together with a location based key pre-distribution scheme. Our results show that DKRU mechanism increases the local and global connectivity when it is applied to MWSNs. Moreover, our mechanism does not cause a significant degradation in network resiliency

An Identity Based Key Management Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks

Pairwise key establishment is one of the fundamental security services in sensor networks which enables sensor nodes in a sensor network to communicate securely with each other using cryptographic techniques. It is not feasible to apply traditional public key management techniques in resource-constrained sensor nodes, and also because the sensor nodes are vulnerable to physical capture. In this paper, we introduce a new scheme called the identity based key pre-distribution using a pseudo random function (IBPRF), which has better trade-off between communication overhead, network connectivity and resilience against node capture compared to the other key pre-distribution schemes. Our scheme can be easily adapted in mobile sensor networks. This scheme supports the addition of new sensor nodes after the initial deployment and also works for any deployment topology. In addition, we propose an improved version of our scheme to support large sensor networks.Comment: 7 pages, Published in Proceedings of 4th Asian International Mobile Computing Conference (AMOC 2006), Kolkata, India, pp. 70-76, January 4-7, 200

A highly resilient and zone-based key predistribution protocol for multiphase wireless sensor networks

Pairwise key distribution among the sensor nodes is an essential problem for providing security in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The common approach for this problem is random key predistribution, which suffers from resiliency issues in case of node captures by adversaries. In the literature, the resiliency problem is addressed by zone-based deployment models that use prior deployment knowledge. Another remedy in the literature, which is for multiphase WSNs, aims to provide self-healing property via periodic deployments of sensor nodes with fresh keys over the sensor field. However, to the best of our knowledge, these two approaches have never been combined before in the literature. In this paper, we propose a zone-based key predistribution approach for multiphase WSNs. Our approach combines the best parts of these approaches and provides self-healing property with up to 9-fold more resiliency as compared to an existing scheme. Moreover, our scheme ensures almost 100% secure connectivity, which means a sensor node shares at least one key with almost all of its neighbors

A resilient key predistribution scheme for multiphase wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, sensor nodes eventually die due to battery depletion. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in which new nodes are periodically redeployed with certain intervals, called generations, to replace the dead nodes are called multi-phase wireless sensor networks. In the literature, there are several key predistribution schemes proposed for secure operation of WSNs. However, these schemes are designed for single phase networks which are not resilient against continuous node capture attacks; even under temporary attacks on the network, the harm caused by the attacker does not heal in time. However, the periodic deployments in multi-phase sensor networks could be utilized to improve the resiliency of the WSNs by deploying nodes with fresh keys. In the literature, there is limited work done in this area. In this paper, we propose a key predistribution scheme for multi-phase wireless sensor networks which is highly resilient under node capture attacks. In our scheme, called RGM (random generation material) key predistribution scheme, each generation of deployment has its own random keying material and pairwise keys are established between node pairs of particular generations. These keys are specific to these generations. Therefore, a captured node cannot be abused to obtain keys of other generations. We compare the performance of our RGM scheme with a well-known multi-phase key predistribution scheme and showed that RGM achieves up to three-fold more resiliency. Even under heavy attacks, our scheme's resiliency performance is 50% better in steady state

Using combined keying materials for key distribution in wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we propose a probabilistic key predistribution scheme for wireless sensor networks that increases connectivity of the basic scheme while keeping sizes of keyring and key pool fixed. We introduce the concept of XORed key, which is the bitwise XOR of two regular (a.k.a. single) keys. Sensor nodes are preloaded with a mixture of single and XORed keys. Nodes establish secure links by using shared XORed keys whenever possible. If node pairs do not have any shared XORed or single keys, they transfer keys from their secure neighbors in a couple of ways, and use them to match with their XORed keys. In this way, the probability of securing links, i.e. local connectivity, increases. The decision of which key is to be transferred from which node is given based on local information at the hand of the nodes. We aim to control the resilience of the network against node capture attacks by using XORed keys since an attacker has to know either both single key operands or the XORed key itself. Simulations show that our scheme is up to 50% more connected as compared to basic scheme. Also it has better resilience performance at the beginning of a node capture attack. When it starts to deteriorate, the difference between the resilience of our proposed scheme and basic scheme is not greater than 5%

KALwEN: a new practical and interoperable key management scheme for body sensor networks

Key management is the pillar of a security architecture. Body sensor networks (BSNs) pose several challenges–some inherited from wireless sensor networks (WSNs), some unique to themselves–that require a new key management scheme to be tailor-made. The challenge is taken on, and the result is KALwEN, a new parameterized key management scheme that combines the best-suited cryptographic techniques in a seamless framework. KALwEN is user-friendly in the sense that it requires no expert knowledge of a user, and instead only requires a user to follow a simple set of instructions when bootstrapping or extending a network. One of KALwEN's key features is that it allows sensor devices from different manufacturers, which expectedly do not have any pre-shared secret, to establish secure communications with each other. KALwEN is decentralized, such that it does not rely on the availability of a local processing unit (LPU). KALwEN supports secure global broadcast, local broadcast, and local (neighbor-to-neighbor) unicast, while preserving past key secrecy and future key secrecy (FKS). The fact that the cryptographic protocols of KALwEN have been formally verified also makes a convincing case. With both formal verification and experimental evaluation, our results should appeal to theorists and practitioners alike

A Survey on Wireless Sensor Network Security

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently attracted a lot of interest in the research community due their wide range of applications. Due to distributed nature of these networks and their deployment in remote areas, these networks are vulnerable to numerous security threats that can adversely affect their proper functioning. This problem is more critical if the network is deployed for some mission-critical applications such as in a tactical battlefield. Random failure of nodes is also very likely in real-life deployment scenarios. Due to resource constraints in the sensor nodes, traditional security mechanisms with large overhead of computation and communication are infeasible in WSNs. Security in sensor networks is, therefore, a particularly challenging task. This paper discusses the current state of the art in security mechanisms for WSNs. Various types of attacks are discussed and their countermeasures presented. A brief discussion on the future direction of research in WSN security is also included.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 2 table