A Polynomial Subset-Based Efficient Multi-Party Key Management System for Lightweight Device Networks

Zahid Mahmood, Huansheng Ning, AtaUllah Ghafoor
2017 Sensors  
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of lightweight devices to measure sensitive data that are highly vulnerable to security attacks due to their constrained resources. In a similar manner, the internet-based lightweight devices used in the Internet of Things (IoT) are facing severe security and privacy issues because of the direct accessibility of devices due to their connection to the internet. Complex and resource-intensive security schemes are infeasible and reduce the network lifetime.
more » ... n this regard, we have explored the polynomial distribution-based key establishment schemes and identified an issue that the resultant polynomial value is either storage intensive or infeasible when large values are multiplied. It becomes more costly when these polynomials are regenerated dynamically after each node join or leave operation and whenever key is refreshed. To reduce the computation, we have proposed an Efficient Key Management (EKM) scheme for multiparty communication-based scenarios. The proposed session key management protocol is established by applying a symmetric polynomial for group members, and the group head acts as a responsible node. The polynomial generation method uses security credentials and secure hash function. Symmetric cryptographic parameters are efficient in computation, communication, and the storage required. The security justification of the proposed scheme has been completed by using Rubin logic, which guarantees that the protocol attains mutual validation and session key agreement property strongly among the participating entities. Simulation scenarios are performed using NS 2.35 to validate the results for storage, communication, latency, energy, and polynomial calculation costs during authentication, session key generation, node migration, secure joining, and leaving phases. EKM is efficient regarding storage, computation, and communication overhead and can protect WSN-based IoT infrastructure. electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) and 128 K bytes of programmable memory [3] . With the passage of time, the sizes of WSN are growing in clusters [4] . Traditional security mechanisms using public key cryptography cause significant overhead regarding computation and communication. Key management is mandatory and more challenging with limited resources in WSNs [5]. Many researchers have been recognized that grouped or dispersed heterogeneous sensor systems can sensibly perform with system effectiveness, operational execution, and enduring system lifetimes. In a heterogeneously grouped approach, as described in Figure 1 , the low end sensor (L-sensors) are resource-constrained devices with low power, short communication range, limited memory, and less computation power. On the other hand, H-sensors are equipped with tamper resistance and have enough resources, like high battery power, broad communication ranges, sufficient memory, and high computational capabilities. L-sensors are deliberately conveyed in a group, and every group is controlled by a group head (H-sensor). The L-sensors essentially sense environmental statistics and forward it to the H-sensors and the other way around. H-sensors can perform complex operations on the sensor information, and utilize longer radio and straightforwardly transfer it to the base-station. The base-station (BS) is a powerful hub, and it has abundant sources. The BS might be a remote server, and it might be connected with the external world utilizing the accelerated Internet.
doi:10.3390/s17040670 pmid:28338632 pmcid:PMC5419783 fatcat:vwcinrbxjvgbbbbl5s2s64b7ru