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Security-aware, Red fox optimization-based cluster-based routing in wireless sensor network

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Abstract

The integration of security-aware and energy-optimized routing in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is crucial for establishing a robust, secure, and energy-efficient communication framework while maintaining the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the application. Furthermore, energy efficiency which is a critical concern due to the limited power resources of sensor nodes, seeks significant research attention. Optimized routing strategies enhance network longevity by minimizing energy dissipation during data communication. To address above issues, this paper proposes a novel Security-aware Red Fox Optimization (RFO)-based Cluster-based Routing (SECR) algorithm, which facilitates secure and energy-efficient data transmission among sensor nodes. The RFO algorithm is employed to dynamically select the optimal Cluster Head (CH) based on energy metrics and network topology. For secure data transmission, an adaptive Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is implemented at the selected CH, ensuring data confidentiality before forwarding the encrypted information to the sink node. Performance evaluations through extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed SECR protocol outperforms existing state-of-the-art routing techniques in terms of security robustness, energy efficiency, and network lifetime.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the reviewers for their immense efforts involved in giving their precious time to review this article.

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No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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  1. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT Srinagar, Srinagar, India

    Sameer Dixit & Shaima Qureshi

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  1. Sameer Dixit
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Sameer Dixit handled the technical foundation and revision of the manuscript. Overall proofreading for the manuscript was done by Shaima Qureshi.

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Correspondence to Sameer Dixit.

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Dixit, S., Qureshi, S. Security-aware, Red fox optimization-based cluster-based routing in wireless sensor network. Peer-to-Peer Netw. Appl. 18, 128 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12083-025-01951-8

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