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

Trust-based Selfish Node Detection Mechanism using Beta Distribution in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are placed in open environments for the collection of data and are vulnerable to external and internal attacks. The cryptographic mechanisms implemented so far, such as authorization and authentication, are used to restrict external sensor node attacks but cannot prevent internal node attacks. In order to evade internal attacks trust mechanisms are used. In trust mechanisms, firstly, the sensor nodes are monitored using the popular Watchdog mechanism. However, traditional trust models do not pay much attention to selective forwarding and consecutive packet dropping. Sometimes, sensitive data are dropped by internal attackers. This problem is addressed in our proposed model by detecting selective forwarding and consecutive failure of sending packets using the Beta probability density function model

A novel secure routing scheme using probabilistic modelling for better resistivity against lethal attacks

Study towards Wireless Adhoc Network dates two decades back with various researchers evolving up with new solutions towards addressing its problems. Irrespective of various other problems, the issues related to the secure routing is yet unsolved owing to massively increasing fatal strategies of the adversary. Review of existing literature shows that the existing secure routing scheme can only govern over the stated attacks reducing the applicability in case of dynamic attacks. Therefore, this manuscript introduces a novel probabilistic model which offers the capability to wireless nodes to identify the malicious behavior and react accordingly. Different from existing intrusion prevention system, the proposed system allows the malicious node to participate in the data forwarding process and exhaust its resources with no chance of launching an attack. The simulated outcome of the study shows that the proposed secure routing scheme offers better data forwarding characteristic in contrast to the existing system in the aspect of intrusion detection and secure data transmission

Security and Privacy Issues in Wireless Mesh Networks: A Survey

This book chapter identifies various security threats in wireless mesh network (WMN). Keeping in mind the critical requirement of security and user privacy in WMNs, this chapter provides a comprehensive overview of various possible attacks on different layers of the communication protocol stack for WMNs and their corresponding defense mechanisms. First, it identifies the security vulnerabilities in the physical, link, network, transport, application layers. Furthermore, various possible attacks on the key management protocols, user authentication and access control protocols, and user privacy preservation protocols are presented. After enumerating various possible attacks, the chapter provides a detailed discussion on various existing security mechanisms and protocols to defend against and wherever possible prevent the possible attacks. Comparative analyses are also presented on the security schemes with regards to the cryptographic schemes used, key management strategies deployed, use of any trusted third party, computation and communication overhead involved etc. The chapter then presents a brief discussion on various trust management approaches for WMNs since trust and reputation-based schemes are increasingly becoming popular for enforcing security in wireless networks. A number of open problems in security and privacy issues for WMNs are subsequently discussed before the chapter is finally concluded.Comment: 62 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables. This chapter is an extension of the author's previous submission in arXiv submission: arXiv:1102.1226. There are some text overlaps with the previous submissio

Machine Learning in Wireless Sensor Networks: Algorithms, Strategies, and Applications

Wireless sensor networks monitor dynamic environments that change rapidly over time. This dynamic behavior is either caused by external factors or initiated by the system designers themselves. To adapt to such conditions, sensor networks often adopt machine learning techniques to eliminate the need for unnecessary redesign. Machine learning also inspires many practical solutions that maximize resource utilization and prolong the lifespan of the network. In this paper, we present an extensive literature review over the period 2002-2013 of machine learning methods that were used to address common issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The advantages and disadvantages of each proposed algorithm are evaluated against the corresponding problem. We also provide a comparative guide to aid WSN designers in developing suitable machine learning solutions for their specific application challenges.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial