Sensor Network Configuration Under Physical Attacks

Abstract

Sensor networks typically operate in hostile outdoor environments. In such environments, sensor networks are highly susceptible to physical attacks that can result in physical node destructions. In this paper, we study the impacts of physical attacks on sensor network configuration. Lifetime is an important metric during configuration for many sensor applications. While lifetime is constrained by limited energies and has been addressed before, prior results cannot be directly applied in the presence of physical attacks. In this paper, we define a practical lifetime problem in sensor networks under a representative physical attack model that we define. We develop an anlytical approach to derive the minimum number and deployment plan of sensors to meet lifetime requirement under physical attacks. We make several observations in this paper. One of our important observations is the high sensitivity of lifetime to physical attacks highlighting the significance of our study.