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产生应用效益。无线传感器网络由一组空间分布的具有感知、计算和无线通信能力的自主传感器节点组成。在无线传感器网络的设计中，安全路由是一个主要的研究挑战，特别是当这种网络被部署为敏感和时间关键的应用时。传感器节点有限的计算、通信、存储和能量能力，再加上无线传感器网络的开放接入特性，使得它们容易受到许多攻击。以往关于无线传感器网络安全路由的许多工作包括传统的密钥管理策略及其增强、恶意节点的检测、针对特定类型的攻击的保护或对无线传感器网络内特定区域的保护。本研究方案的首要目标是为无线传感器网络设计一种安全的端到端路由体系结构。该研究的创新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，设计了轻量级的安全路由算法。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。支持这一提议的合作伙伴诺里夫网络公司是一家总部设在魁北克加蒂诺的网络和IT解决方案公司，一直在积极研究和开发用于移动通信系统的安全和可扩展的路由解决方案。这项研究的结果将解决下一代WSN安全协议设计和部署中的一个关键领域，并将作为一个发射台，不仅为支持组织，也为加拿大其他行业开发安全的物联网应用。此外，该项目将在三年内培训具有网络安全、物联网和区块链技术领域技能的宝贵HQP。

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.