Achieving sink node anonymity under energy constraints in tactical wireless sensor networks

Abstract

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a distributed network that facilitates wireless information gathering within a region of interest. The information collected by sensors is aggregated at a central node know as the sink node. Two challenges in the deployment of WSNs are limited battery power of each sensor node and sink node anonymity. The role played by the sink node raises its profile as a high value target for attack, thus its anonymity is crucial to the security of a WSN. In order to improve network security, we must implement a protocol that conceals the sink node's location while being cognizant of energy resource constraints. In this paper we develop a routing algorithm based on node clustering to improve sink node anonymity while simultaneously limiting node energy depletion. Via MATLAB simulations, we analyze the effectiveness of this algorithm in obfuscating the sink node's location in the WSN while preserving node energy. We show that the anonymity of the sink node is independent of traffic volume and that the average energy consumed by a node remains consistent across topological variations.