Unattended and Passive Wireless Sensor Network Security -- A SAFE PROJECT

Unattended Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) refer to the category of wireless sensor networks that operate without an on-line data collection entity. In a UWSN the sink visits the network with irregular and even unpredictable frequency. Consequently, each sensor must retain its data (measurements) for a considerable time. Intervals between successive sink visits represent periods of vulnerability and incentive attacks. When the network is unattended for longer time, it faces greater risk of sensor compromise since the adversary will have more time to mount its attack. Thus, security measures for UWSNs should and have to be evaluated under a more powerful adversary model which takes the advantage of unattended nature of the network.

This is a joint work with researchers from both the US and Europe. Please refer to this link in UC Irvine for details about the project.

Passive Wireless Sensor Networks (PWSNs) refer to the category of wireless sensor networks consisting of RFID sensors that are powered by remote RF power (and/or local environment power). RFID sensors have emerged as a new technology to address the energy limitation problem of battery-powered WSNs.  Due to the low maintenance, small size, and long-period of operation of passive sensors, PWSNs have the potential to be used in law-enforcement and military setting, such as structural health monitoring and battlefield monitoring. However, successfully deploying large scale PWSNs hinges on the ability of these systems to aptly handle malicious attacks in hostile environments and provide a trustworthy computing environment. The objective of this project is to study fundamental security needs of such networks and develop appropriate tools to help establish trust between sensors and reader sinks under the constraints of sensor resource, intermittent, and unattended long-term network operations, in order to build a secure, recoverable and trusted PWSN.

Last update: 8/17/2011. All rights reserved.
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