End-to-end security architecture for wireless sensor networks.

Author(s)

Bruno Trevizan de Oliveira

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP/BC)
• Defense date: 2012-08-03

Examining board members

Cíntia Borges Margi; Carlos Eduardo Cugnasca; Routo Terada

• Advisor: Cíntia Borges Margi

Abstract

Many wireless sensor networks applications need security services, such as confidentiality, data integrity and data source authentication. On the other hand, because of device limitations, security mechanisms may affect the network energy consumption and communication delay, which impose a great challenge for practical implementation of security mechanisms in such scenario. Many solutions based on symmetric cryptography were proposed for the specific challenges of wireless sensor networks. Nevertheless, they are focused on hop-by-hop security. Such approach is suited to provide link-layer security, but it cannot guarantee end-to-end security. This work presents scenarios and challenges to implement security in wireless sensor networks, and the conception, design and implementation of a security architecture, which aims to provide: security in end-to-end communication; interoperability between different systems, and enable greater flexibility in cryptographic keys distribution in different scenarios and topologies. Additionally, the proposed solution supports on-the-y adjustment of its security services. The architecture design, which targets the application layer of the network protocol stack, was based on the main properties of the architectures found in literature as well as adopted strategies. For the implementation, mechanisms and cryptographic algorithms were selected through the performance evaluation that considers memory usage, execution time and power consumption as metrics. The results were the architecture specification and its qualitative analysis, and the performance evaluation of the implementation developed as proof of concept. Furthermore, we present an analysis of topology and deployment impact on key distribution task. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/02909-8 - Security architecture for wireless sensor networks
• Grantee: Bruno Trevizan de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master