A Matrix-Based Random Key Pre-distribution Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Dynamics of wireless sensor networks (WSN) make security one of the top issues we should pay attention to. WSN's can be deployed in hostile environments where their nodes are easy to be captured or re-programmed for deleterious use by an adversary. Therefore, it is necessary to protect communications between sensor nodes through cryptographic methods. To address this, symmetric key management in wireless sensor networks arises as a challenging security issue because other key management issues (e.g., asymmetric cryptography or key distribution centers) are proven undesirable for resource-limited sensor nodes. So far, several key distribution schemes have been proposed to solve key management problems. In this paper, we propose a matrix-based random key pre-distribution scheme, which uses simple linear algebraic operations to derive common keys and is shown to be better resilient against node collusion than certain existing schemes.