Security in wireless sensor networks : issues and challenges

International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security (IJCNIS), Vol. 1, No. 2, August 2009, Editor: Shafiullah Khan, pp. 59 – 8, 2009

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently attracted a lot of interest in the research community due their wide range of applications. Due to distributed nature of these networks and their deployment in remote areas, these networks are vulnerable to numerous security threats that can adversely affect their proper functioning. This problem is more critical if the network is deployed for some mission-critical applications such as in a tactical battlefield. Random failure of nodes is also very likely in real-life deployment scenarios. Due to resource constraints in the sensor nodes, traditional security mechanisms with large overhead of computation and communication are infeasible in WSNs. Security in sensor networks is, therefore, a particularly challenging task. This paper discusses the current state of the art in security mechanisms for WSNs. Various types of attacks are discussed and their countermeasures presented. A brief discussion on the future direction of research in WSN security is also included.

International Journal, 2012

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a collection of sensor nodes. Sensor nodes are small in size and of low cost, which are operated under the control of central authority known as base station using wireless channel. Wireless sensor network shows a great promise for various futuristic applications like military applications, nuclear power plant, Environment monitoring, health care, target tracking and recognition of physical phenomenon .It has a set of constraints like low computation capability, limited memory, reduced battery life, and lack of infrastructure. Due to extensive use of wireless sensor network in real world data confidentiality must be maintained, so security plays a vital role. The use of this particular network is crucial in many contexts regardless of geographical position and so on. This work brief out the security requirements and outline the current research issues.

Wireless S ensor Networks (WS Ns) are used in many applications in military, ecological, and health-related areas. A sensor network comprises a group of tiny, typically battery-powered devices and wireless infrastructure that monitor and record conditions in any number of environments-from the factory floor to the data center to a hospital lab and even out in the wild. A wireless sensor network (WS N) is a network formed by a large number of sensor nodes where each node is equipped with a sensor to detect physical phenomena such as light, heat, pressure, etc. Wireless sensor network is one of the growing technology for sensing and performing the different tasks. In this paper we present a survey of security issues in WS Ns. First we outline the constraints, architecture of wireless sensor network, Challenges of WS N, and attacks in WS Ns. Index Terms-Architecture of wireless sensor network, Challenges of WS N, and attacks in WS Ns.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) present myriad application opportunities for several applications such as precision agriculture, environmental and habitat monitoring, traffic control, industrial process monitoring and control, home automation and mission-critical surveillance applications such as military surveillance, healthcare (elderly, home monitoring) applications, disaster relief and management, fire detection applications among others. Since WSNs are used in missioncritical tasks, security is an essential requirement. Sensor nodes can easily be compromised by an adversary due to unique constraints inherent in WSNs such as limited sensor node energy, limited computation and communication capabilities and the hostile deployment environments.

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) has a huge range of applications such as battlefield, surveillance, emergency rescue operation and smart home technology etc. Apart from its inherent constraints such as limited memory and energy resources, when deployed in hostile environmental conditions, the sensor nodes are vulnerable to physical capture and other security constraints. These constraints put security as a major challenge for the researchers in the field of computer networking. This paper reflects various issues and challenges related to security of WSN, its security architecture. The paper also provides a discussion on various security mechanisms deployed in WSN environment to overcome its security threats.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is a recent advanced technology of computer networks and electronics. The WSN increasingly becoming more practicable solution to many challenging applications. The sensor networks depend upon the sensed data, which may depend upon the application. One of the major applications of the sensor networks is in military. So security is the greatest concern to deploy sensor network such hostile unattended environments, monitoring real world applications. But the limitations and inherent constraints of the sensor nodes does not support the existing traditional security mechanisms in WSN. Now the present research is mainly concentrated on providing security mechanism in sensor networks. In this context, security aspects of the sensor networks like requirements, classifications, and type of attacks etc., is analyzed in this survey paper.

Wireless Sens or Networks (WSN) is an emerging technology now - a - days and has a wide range of applications such as battlefield surveillance, traffic surveillance, forest fire detection, flood detection etc. But wireless sensor networks are susceptible to a variety of pot ential attacks which obstructs the normal operation of the network. The wireless sensor network nature of communication is unprotected and unsafe because of deployment in hostile environment, limited resources, an automated nature and untrusted broadcast t ransmission media. The most of security techniques are not sufficient in WSN network and security is a vital requirement for network. The intent of this paper is to investigate the security related issues, attacks and Challenges. The introductory sectio n gives brief information on the WSN components and its architecture. Then it deals with some of the major security issues and challenges over wireless sensor networks (WSNs).

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are formed by deploying as large number of sensor nodes in an area for the surveillance of generally remote locations. Wireless Sensor Networks consist of a large number of pocket-sized sensors deployed in autonomous manner in the area under surveillance. These sensor networks are used in sensitive, unattended and remote environment. WSNs suffer from many constraints, including low computation capability, small memory, limited energy resources, susceptibility to physical capture, and the use of insecure wireless communication channels. These constraints make security in WSNs a challenge. This paper studies the security problems of WSN based on its resource restricted design and deployment characteristics and the security requirements for designing a secure WSN. Also, this study documents the well-known attacks at the different layers of WSN and some counter measures against those attacks.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is a recent advanced technology of computer networks and electronics. The WSN increasingly becoming more practicable solution to many challenging applications. The sensor networks depend upon the sensed data, which may depend upon the application. One of the major applications of the sensor networks is in military. So security is the greatest concern to deploy sensor network such hostile unattended environments, monitoring real world applications. But the limitations and inherent constraints of the sensor nodes does not support the existing traditional security mechanisms in WSN. Now the present research is mainly concentrated on providing security mechanism in sensor networks. In this context, we analysis security aspects of the sensor networks like requirements, classifications, and type of attacks etc., in this survey paper.