Detection of Replay Attack through Sequence Number Encryption in EDDK based WSNs

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks can be used to deliver status information to users in real time. The sensor nodes used in wireless sensor networks are arranged by attaching sensors to acquire necessary information, such as vibration, sound, light, and temperature. Since a sensor node is small in size and inexpensive, it is advantageous for monitoring large areas. When a sensor node senses a change in a situation, this event information is wirelessly communicated with other sensor nodes and transmitted to a base station. However, since the sensor nodes used in wireless sensor networks are small and inexpensive, there are restrictions in terms of their battery life, memory, and computing power. An attacker can easily compromise a sensor node and use a compromised node to attempt message tampering and energy consumption attacks. EDDK is a scheme that detects attacks from compromised nodes through key management. EDDK uses a pairwise key and a local cluster key to defend against various attacks in the network. In addition, EDDK protects against replay attacks by using sequence numbers and guarantees message integrity. However, since the sequence number and sensor node ID are not encrypted, they can be used as an attack element. An attacker can attempt a replay attack by manipulating the sequence number through sniffing. A replay attack that occurs in a wireless sensor network consumes sensor node energy and confuses the user. In order to defend against such an attack, we propose a sequence number encryption scheme. The proposed scheme detects new types of replay attacks and shows about 7% energy improvement.