Secure connectivity through key predistribution with directional antennas to cope with jamming in sensor networks

Abstract

One of the first steps to provide security for sensor networks is to pre-distribute cryptographic keys among sensor nodes for bootstrapping security. Each node can use stored keys to establish secure links with surrounding neighbors once deployed in the sensor field. Jamming attacks can force a network to perform different coping techniques to avoid jamming in order to continue data transmission tasks. Performing such techniques may cause change in secure connectivity of the network. In this paper, we study the impact of jamming attacks on secure connectivity (provided by different key predistribution schemes) when the network uses directional antennas to cope with jamming. Directional transmissions can perhaps create more links to nodes that are further away (within the beamforming direction). However, a node may also lose some links to nearby nodes that are not within the main beam or strong side beam.We investigate changes in secure connectivity (provided by different key predistribution schemes) when nodes transmit with directional antennas to cope with jamming attacks. © 2013 IEEE.