Security support for in-network processing in Wireless Sensor Networks

The benefits of in-network processing for wireless sensor networks include improved scalability, prolonged lifetime, and increased versatility. This paper addresses the challenges associated with securing in-network processing within WSNs, and proposes a collection of mechanisms for delegating trust to aggregators that are not initially trusted by individual sensor nodes. Security mechanisms are proposed to address the downstream requirement that sensor nodes authenticate commands disseminated from parent aggregators. Conversely, security mechanisms are also proposed to address the upstream requirement that aggregators authenticate data produced by sensors before aggregating. Simulation results in ns2 of the proposed mechanisms for secure in-network processing are presented, as well as implementation on a mote testbed.