Combinatorial Design of Key Distribution Mechanisms for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Key distribution is one of the most challenging security issues in wireless sensor networks where sensor nodes are randomly scattered over a hostile territory. In such a sensor deployment scenario, there will be no prior knowledge of post deployment configuration. For security solutions requiring pairwise keys, it is impossible to decide how to distribute key pairs to sensor nodes before the deployment. Existing approaches to this problem are to assign more than one key, namely a key-chain, to each node. Key-chains are randomly drawn from a key-pool. Either two neighboring nodes have a key in common in their key-chains, or there is a path, called key-path, among these two nodes where each pair of neighboring nodes on this path has a key in common. Problem in such a solution is to decide on the key-chain size and key-pool size so that every pair of nodes can establish a session key directly or through a path with high probability. The size of the key-path is the key factor for the efficiency of the design. This paper presents novel, deterministic and hybrid approaches based on Combinatorial Design for key distribution. In particular, several block design techniques are considered for generating the key-chains and the key-pools. Comparison to probabilistic schemes shows that our combinatorial approach produces better connectivity with smaller key-chain sizes.

NanoECC: Testing the Limits of Elliptic Curve Cryptography in Sensor Networks

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The Rise and Fall and Rise of Combinatorial Key Predistribution

“…There have been a large number of recent proposals for key predistribution schemes, mostly explicitly targeted at wireless sensor network applications ( [4] provides a good survey from 2005, but much has happened since). A substantial number of these consider the case of homogeneous, static nodes which are deployed with no location control.…”

An efficient scheme for removing compromised sensor nodes from wireless sensor networks

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