Security

Abstract

Security is one of the fundamental problems in wireless sensor and ad hoc networks. Properties specific to such networks make it hard to apply traditional security solutions and require the design and analysis of new security mechanisms.

Many attacks are very powerful, but either not specific to wireless sensor and ad hoc networks or of little algorithmic interest, for example eavesdropping or injection of faulty traffic, radio jamming, or tampering with the hardware. Although of independent interest, we will not consider these issues in the following, and instead delve into the problem of distributing cryptographic keys securely.

The problem of distributing symmetric or asymmetric keys has always been a nuisance in applied cryptography: Before two parties can establish a secure communication channel C, they first need another secure communication channel C _k over which they can negotiate the key required for establishing C In wireless sensor and ad hoc networks, this problem turns out to have solutions that look quite different from those in more traditional settings.

We start with giving a brief overview of security issues and to the cryptographic basics that are required to understand why distribution of cryptographic keys is a necessary condition for secure communication. Then, we delve into the key distribution issue. Section 16.2 deals with the symmetric case, and Section 16.3 with the asymmetric case.