DSKMS: a dynamic smart key management system based on fuzzy logic in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks include a large number of sensor nodes which are developed in an environment. These networks have military, commercial, industrial, and medical applications. Providing these networks with security is of absolute importance. One strategy for maintaining the security of these networks is key management. In the presented paper, we propose a smart dynamic key management system for wireless sensor networks which utilizes fuzzy logic for path key generation and for adding new nodes to the network. Our proposed key management system falls in the category of methods which are based on hierarchical networks and it utilizes both pre-distribution and post-deployment mechanisms of key distribution among the sensor nodes. Utilization of fuzzy logic in the proposed key management system results in increased accuracy in decision making and contributes to its smartification. As a result, energy consumption in the network is reduced and the network lifetime is enhanced. Simulation results show that our system, compared to other key management systems, is more efficient in terms of communication overload, required memory space, and energy consumption. Furthermore, our system demonstrated proper resilience and resistance to cryptanalysis attacks.