Information Assurance In Wireless Sensor Networks

  • Authors:
  • Stephan Olariu;Qingwen Xu

  • Affiliations:
  • Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA;Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

  • Venue:
  • IPDPS '05 Proceedings of the 19th IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium (IPDPS'05) - Workshop 12 - Volume 13
  • Year:
  • 2005

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Abstract

Networking unattended wireless sensors is expected to have significant impact on the efficiency of a large array of military and non-military applications. The main goal of wireless sensor networks is to obtain globally meaningful information from strictly local gleaned by individual sensor nodes. The network is deployed such that the sensors are embedded, possibly at random, in a target environment. Utilizing the basic capabilities of sensor nodes in the network different types of monitoring and control applications that address the target environment can be developed. Depending on the application at hand, the interface between a sensor network and the outside world is provided by aircraft, helicopters, ground-based vehicles, satellites, co-located sink-nodes, etc. However, a wireless sensor network is only as good as the information it produces. In this respect, the most important concern is information assurance. Indeed, in most application domains sensor networks will constitute a mission critical component requiring commensurate security protection. Sensor network communications must prevent disclosure and undetected modification of exchanged messages. Due to the fact that individual sensor nodes are anonymous and that communication among sensors is via wireless links, sensor networks are highly vulnerable to security attacks. If an adversary can thwart the work of the network by perturbing the information produced, stopping production, or pilfering information, then the perceived usefulness of sensor networks will be drastically curtailed. Thus, security is a major issue that must be resolved in order for the potential of wireless sensor networks to be fully exploited.