Implementation of ECC with hidden Generator point in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

With ever growing demand for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in military and commercial application areas, the urge for secure data exchange over the network is also on the increase. The standard cryptographic algorithms, such as the RSA can not address the security issue due to its computational complexity and the resource constrained nature of the constituent nodes. Another public key cryptographic (PKC) algorithm, Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) has been emerging as a promising alternative to be used in WSN nodes, as it is capable of providing a similar security level using smaller key length compared to that of the RSA. As WSN nodes are deployed randomly over the field, these nodes are more vulnerable to the man-in-middle (MIM) attack. In traditional ECC algorithm, the Generator point is published along with other domain parameters. An intruder, launching MIM attack, could crack the public key, leading to a security breach in the network. This work proposes a technique for ECC with a hidden generator point in order to overcome the MIM attack. Three different algorithms based on distribution of points on the elliptic cure (EC), using a different generator point for each encrypted message and selecting different generator points for each session are discussed. A comparison based on the computational cost and security for three different techniques is also presented.