How to Design Connected Sensor Networks that Are Provably Secure

We give, for the first time, a precise mathematical analysis of the connectivity and security properties of sensor networks that make use of the random pre-distribution of keys. We also show how to set the parameters– pool and key-ring size– in such a way that the network is not only connected with high probability via secure links, but also provably secure, in the following sense: we formally show that any attacker that captures sensors at random with the aim of compromising a constant fraction of the secure links, must capture at least a constant fraction of the nodes of the network. In the context of wireless sensor networks where random predistribution of keys is employed, we are the first to provide a mathematically precise proof, with a clear indication of parameter choice, that two crucial properties – connectivi ty via secure links and resilience against malicious attacks– can be obtained simultaneously. Our theoretical results ar e complemented by extensive simulations that reinforce our main conclusions.

[1]  Rolf Blom,et al.  An Optimal Class of Symmetric Key Generation Systems , 1985, EUROCRYPT.

[2]  P. Erdos,et al.  On the evolution of random graphs , 1984 .

[3]  Moti Yung,et al.  Perfectly Secure Key Distribution for Dynamic Conferences , 1992, Inf. Comput..

[4]  A. Crofts,et al.  Structure and function of the -complex of , 1992 .

[5]  Duncan J. Watts,et al.  Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks , 1998, Nature.

[6]  Mathew D. Penrose,et al.  On k-connectivity for a geometric random graph , 1999, Random Struct. Algorithms.

[7]  Edward R. Scheinerman,et al.  On Random Intersection Graphs: The Subgraph Problem , 1999, Combinatorics, Probability and Computing.

[8]  James Allen Fill,et al.  Random intersection graphs when m=omega(n): An equivalence theorem relating the evolution of the G(n, m, p) and G(n, p) models , 2000, Random Struct. Algorithms.

[9]  A. Rbnyi.  ON THE EVOLUTION OF RANDOM GRAPHS , 2001 .

[10]  Virgil D. Gligor,et al.  A key-management scheme for distributed sensor networks , 2002, CCS '02.

[11]  Ian F. Akyildiz,et al.  Wireless sensor networks: a survey , 2002, Comput. Networks.

[12]  Christian Bettstetter,et al.  On the minimum node degree and connectivity of a wireless multihop network , 2002, MobiHoc '02.

[13]  Sencun Zhu,et al.  LEAP: efficient security mechanisms for large-scale distributed sensor networks , 2003, CCS '03.

[14]  Dawn Xiaodong Song,et al.  Random key predistribution schemes for sensor networks , 2003, 2003 Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2003..

[15]  Donggang Liu,et al.  Establishing pairwise keys in distributed sensor networks , 2005, TSEC.

[16]  Yunghsiang Sam Han,et al.  A pairwise key pre-distribution scheme for wireless sensor networks , 2003, CCS '03.

[17]  Mark E. J. Newman,et al.  The Structure and Function of Complex Networks , 2003, SIAM Rev..

[18]  Roberto Di Pietro,et al.  Efficient and resilient key discovery based on pseudo-random key pre-deployment , 2004, 18th International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium, 2004. Proceedings..

[19]  Roberto Di Pietro,et al.  Energy efficient node-to-node authentication and communication confidentiality in wireless sensor networks , 2006, Wirel. Networks.