Secure Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks with a Lightweight Key Management and Blockchain Approach

无线传感器网络 (WSN) 是物联网 (IoT) 部署的关键驱动力，有望在智能城市、智能家居、制造、军事、环境以及发电、供水和电信等关键基础设施监控等领域带来应用优势。无线传感器网络由一组空间分布的自主传感器节点组成，具有传感、计算和无线通信功能。安全路由是无线传感器网络设计中的一个主要研究挑战，特别是当此类网络部署用于敏感和时间关键的应用时。传感器节点有限的计算、通信、存储和能源能力，加上无线传感器网络的开放访问性质，使得它们容易受到多种攻击。先前有关 WSN 中安全路由的大部分工作涉及传统密钥管理策略及其增强、恶意节点检测、针对特定类型攻击的保护或 WSN 内特定区域的保护。 本研究提案的总体目标是为 WSN 设计安全的端到端路由架构。 该研究的新颖之处在于，结合混合密钥管理方案和基于区块链的分布式哈希链，设计用于安全路由的轻量级算法。此外，我们的方法将适用于具有多个基站的无线传感器网络，并可扩展到移动节点。该提案的支持合作伙伴 Norleaf Networks Inc. 是一家位于魁北克省加蒂诺的网络和 IT 解决方案公司，一直积极致力于移动通信系统安全且可扩展的路由解决方案的研究和开发。这项研究的成果将解决下一代无线传感器网络安全协议设计和部署的关键领域，并将作为开发安全物联网应用程序的发射台，不仅为支持组织，而且为加拿大其他行业。此外，该项目将在三年内培训有价值的总部人员，使其具备网络安全、物联网和区块链技术领域的技能。

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are the key drivers for the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT), and promise application benefits in the areas of smart cities, smart homes, manufacturing, military, environment, and monitoring of critical infrastructure such as power generation, water supply and telecommunications. A WSN consists of a spatially distributed set of autonomous sensor nodes with sensing, computing, and wireless communication capabilities. Secure routing is a major research challenge in the design of WSNs, especially when such networks are deployed for sensitive and time-critical applications. The limited computation, communication, storage and energy capability of sensor nodes, combined with the open access nature of WSNs, makes them vulnerable to a number of attacks. Much of the previous work on secure routing in WSNs has ranged from traditional key management strategies and their enhancements, detection of malicious nodes, protection against specific types of attacks, or protection of specific areas within the WSN. The overarching objective of this research proposal is to design a secure end-to-end routing architecture for WSNs. The novelty of the research is to design lightweight algorithms for secure routing with an integration of a hybrid key management scheme and distributed hash chaining based on Blockchain. Furthermore, our approach will be applicable to a WSN with multiple base stations, and extensible to mobile nodes. The supporting partner for this proposal, Norleaf Networks Inc., is a Gatineau, Quebec-based networking and IT Solutions company, and has been active in the research and development of secure and scalable routing solutions for mobile communication systems. The outcome of this research will address a crucial area in the design and deployment of next generation WSN security protocols and will serve as a launch pad to develop seure IoT applications not only to the supporting organization but also to other Canadian industries. Furthermore, over a period of three years, this project will train valuable HQP with skill sets in the area of cyber security, IoT and Blockchain technologies.