Towards trusted and energy-efficient data collection in unattended wireless sensor networks

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT), including wireless sensors, is one of the highly anticipated contributors to big data; therefore, avoiding misleading or forged data gathering in cases of sensitive and critical data through secure communication is vital. Wireless sensor networks are relatively simple, scalable networks with many applications in research. They can provide many benefits, including ad hoc distribution, lower costs, and higher flexibility. In a scenario where time is of the essence and dedicated base stations cannot be established, mobile sinks must be used to gather data. IoT systems are based on a collective organization in which devices collaborate to provide better and more accurate decisions. It is important to ensure that the information being shared is legitimate to avoid any significant degradation in system performance because of false or inaccurate information. Building trust—the “assurance” between two devices that the information being shared can be used with confidence that it is accurate—will create a trustworthy, secure system in which all devices are identified and no information is accepted from any unauthorized device. The key contribution of this work is a new, dynamic, trust-based clustering mechanism by which nodes can securely connect to one another and begin transmitting data to a sink while it is available. To demonstrate the utility of this mechanism, we examine two possible attacks on a trust-based network and present a heuristic solution for minimizing the negative effects of such attacks in an energy-efficient way. Our results show improved network performance through reduction of the number of cycles required to isolate or mitigate the effect of malicious nodes in the network, thus reducing the energy consumption in the network with a concomitant increase in its lifespan. Our cluster methodology also has the effect of spreading energy consumption among nodes, thereby reducing early fall-off of nodes and network holes.