E3SN: Efficient security scheme for sensor networks

Abstract

Sensor networks are widely used in various areas and applications, and the need for effective security systems is increasingly essential. But most security systems are based on complex algorithms that require a high complexity and energy consumption, thus have undesirable consequences. To reduce them, a new security system called E3SN is defined. It is based on an invertible and flexible key dependent matrix to mix the contents of the packets. Our proposal can achieve simultaneously the information's confidentiality, packet's integrity and source's authentication, with a minimum of computational complexity, communication overhead and memory consumption. This matrix is secret and only the transmitter and receiver can produce it in counter mode. We evaluate our system by comparing E3SN to AES algorithm, considered reliable and robust in several standards of sensor networks such as ZigBee, WirelessHART and ISA100.11a. The results show that the proposed technique is much more efficient than AES, with the same quality of cryptography.