Skip to main content

Bio-Inspired Topology Maintenance Protocols for Secure Wireless Sensor Networks

  • Conference paper

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 5151))

Abstract

We analyze the security vulnerabilities of some well-known topology maintenance protocols (TMPs) for wireless sensor networks. These protocols aim to increase the lifetime of the sensor network by only maintaining a subset of nodes in an active or awake state. The design of these protocols assumes that the sensor nodes will be deployed in a trusted, non-adversarial environment, and does not take into account the impact of attacks launched by malicious insider or outsider nodes. We describe three attacks against these protocols that may be used to reduce the lifetime of the sensor network, or to degrade the functionality of the sensor application by reducing the network connectivity and the sensing coverage that can be achieved. Further, we describe countermeasures, inspired by biological systems and processes, that can be taken to increase the security and fault-tolerance of the protocols.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Chen, B., Jamieson, K., Balakrishnan, H., Morris, R.: Span: An energy-efficient coordination algorithm for topology maintenance in ad hoc wireless networks. ACM Wireless Networks Journal 8(5) (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Cerpa, A., Estrin, D.: ASCENT: Adaptive Self-Configuring Sensor Networks Topologies. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing 3(3) (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ye, F., Zhong, G., Lu, S., Zhang, L.: PEAS: A Robust Energy Conserving Protocol for Long-lived Sensor Networks. In: Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing System (ICDCS 2003), Rhode Island, Providence (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, X., Xing, G., Zhang, Y., Lu, C., Pless, R., Gill, C.: Integrated Coverage and Connectivity Configuration in Wireless Sensor Networks. In: Proceedings of the 1st ACM International Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys 2003), Los Angeles, California (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Gabrielli, A., Mancini, L.V., Setia, S., Jajodia, S.: Securing Topology Maintenance Protocols for Sensor Networks: Attacks and Countermeasures. In: Proceedings of the 1st IEEE/CreateNet International Conference on Security and Privacy for Emerging Areas in Communication Networks (SecureComm 2005), Athens, Greece (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Karlof, C., Wagner, D.: Secure Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks: Attacks and Countermeasure. In: Proceedings of the 1st IEEE International Workshop on Sensor Network Protocols and Applications (SNPA 2003), Anchorage, Alaska (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Stajano, F., Anderson, R.: The Resurrecting Duckling: Security Issues for Ad-hoc Wireless Networks. Springer, London (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Xu, Y., Heidemann, J., Estrin, D.: Geography-informed energy conservation for ad-hoc routing. In: Proceedings of the 7th ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (MobiCom 2001), Rome, Italy (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Xu, Y., Heidemann, J., Estrin, D.: Energy conservation by adaptive clustering for ad-hoc networks. In: Poster Session of the 3rd ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc 2002), Lausanne, Switzerland (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Xu, Y., Heidemann, J., Estrin, D.: Adaptive Energy-Conserving Routing for Multihop Ad-Hoc Networks. Research Report527, USC/Information Sciences Institute (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Mica sensor node, http://www.xbow.com

  12. Miller, M.B., Bassler, B.L.: Quorum Sensing in Bacteria. Annual Review of Microbiology 55, 165–199 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Janeway, C.A.: Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease. Garland Publishing (2001)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Gabrielli, A., Mancini, L.V. (2008). Bio-Inspired Topology Maintenance Protocols for Secure Wireless Sensor Networks. In: Liò, P., Yoneki, E., Crowcroft, J., Verma, D.C. (eds) Bio-Inspired Computing and Communication. BIOWIRE 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5151. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92191-2_35

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92191-2_35

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-92190-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-92191-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics