Abstract
A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a collection of low-power and lightweight wireless sensor nodes that are used to monitor the human body functions and the surrounding environment. It supports a number of innovative and interesting applications, including ubiquitous healthcare and Consumer Electronics (CE) applications. Since WBAN nodes are used to collect sensitive (life-critical) information and may operate in hostile environments, they require strict security mechanisms to prevent malicious interaction with the system. In this paper, we first highlight major security requirements and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks in WBAN at Physical, Medium Access Control (MAC), Network, and Transport layers. Then we discuss the IEEE 802.15.4 security framework and identify the security vulnerabilities and major attacks in the context of WBAN. Different types of attacks on the Contention Access Period (CAP) and Contention Free Period (CFP) parts of the superframe are analyzed and discussed. It is observed that a smart attacker can successfully corrupt an increasing number of GTS slots in the CFP period and can considerably affect the Quality of Service (QoS) in WBAN (since most of the data is carried in CFP period). As we increase the number of smart attackers the corrupted GTS slots are eventually increased, which prevents the legitimate nodes to utilize the bandwidth efficiently. This means that the direct adaptation of IEEE 802.15.4 security framework for WBAN is not totally secure for certain WBAN applications. New solutions are required to integrate high level security in WBAN.
Highlights
A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) allows the integration of intelligent, miniaturized, low-power sensor nodes in, on, or around a human body to monitor body functions and the surrounding environment
We simulate a number of attacks on the Contention Access Period (CAP) and Contention Free Period (CFP) periods of the IEEE 802.15.4 superframe using the NS 2.31 simulator [26]
Starting from the WBAN security requirements at different layers, we studied the IEEE 802.15.4 security framework for WBANs and identified different types of attacks on the IEEE 802.15.4 superframe by a number of adversaries
Summary
A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) allows the integration of intelligent, miniaturized, low-power sensor nodes in, on, or around a human body to monitor body functions and the surrounding environment. WBANs provide remote health monitoring of patients for a long period of time without any restriction on his/her normal activities [1,2] An in-body area network allows communication between invasive/implanted devices and a base station. An on-body area network, on the other hand, allows communication between non-invasive/wearable devices and a base station. We present a brief discussion on the major security requirements and threats in WBANs at the Physical, Medium Access Control (MAC), Network, and Transport layers.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
