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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


Self-organizing protocol for reliability and security in wireless sensor networks

Authors

;

Term

10. term

Publication year

2007

Abstract

Denne afhandling adresserer, hvordan man kan opnå både sikkerhed og pålidelighed i selvorganiserende trådløse sensornetværk under stramme begrænsninger på energi og hukommelse. Vi foreslår en ny, fuldt distribueret protokol, der giver sikker kommunikation fra node til node uden afhængighed af en central basestation, for at øge fleksibilitet og skalerbarhed. Arbejdet omfatter en gennemgang af eksisterende sikkerheds- og pålidelighedsprotokoller, en systemmodel for trådløs kanal og radiomodtagelse samt en designbeskrivelse med mekanismer for beskedautentificering (MAC) og kryptering integreret med pålidelighedsfunktioner. Vi analyserer krav til hukommelse, protokoloverhead og beregningsomkostninger og implementerer en simulator til at evaluere protokollen. Evalueringen dækker forskellige kanalscenarier (perfekt, konstant tab, afstandsafhængigt tab og realistiske forhold), inkluderer energiforbrug, sammenligner mod SNEP og tester robusthed mod typiske angreb som forfalskede MAC’er, manipulerede felter og replay. Rapporten fremlægger simuleringsresultaterne og diskuterer de praktiske afvejninger mellem sikkerhed, pålidelighed og energiforbrug samt anvendelse i et sundhedsplejescenarie.

This thesis investigates how to achieve both security and reliability in self-organizing wireless sensor networks under strict energy and memory constraints. We propose a new, fully distributed protocol that secures node-to-node communication without relying on a central base station, improving flexibility and scalability. The work reviews existing security and reliability protocols, defines wireless channel and radio reception models, and details a design that integrates message authentication (MAC) and ciphering with reliability mechanisms. We analyze memory requirements, protocol overhead, and computational cost, and implement a simulator to evaluate the protocol. The evaluation spans multiple channel conditions (perfect, constant loss, distance-dependent loss, and realistic scenarios), includes energy consumption, compares against SNEP, and tests resilience to common attacks such as forged MACs, field manipulation, and replay. The report presents the simulation results and discusses practical trade-offs among security, reliability, and energy consumption, including an application-oriented healthcare scenario.

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