Can we trust trusted nodes in wireless sensor networks?

Abstract

In this paper we extend our previously designed trust model in wireless sensor networks to include both; communication trust and data trust. Trust management in wireless sensor networks is predominantly based on routing messages; whether the communication has happened or not (successful and unsuccessful transactions). The uniqueness of sensing data in wireless sensor networks introduces new challenges in calculating trust between nodes (data trust). If the overall trust is based on just the communication trust, it might mislead the network, that is; untrustworthy nodes in terms of sensed data can be classified as trusted nodes due to their communication capabilities. Hence we need to develop new trust models to address the issue of the actual sensed data. Here we are comparing the two trust models and proving that one model by itself is not enough to decide on the trustworthiness of a node, so new techniques are required to combine both data trust and communication trust. ©2008 IEEE