Provenance for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

Abstract

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), provenance records the data source, forwarding, and aggregating information of data packets on their way to the base station. Provenance is critical for assessing the trustworthiness of the received data, diagnosing network failures, detecting early signs of attacks, etc. However, because the provenance size expands rapidly with the increase in packet transmission hops, the provenance schemes developed for use in wired computer networks are not generally applicable to WSNs. Therefore, specific provenance techniques have been developed for WSNs that take into account the constrained resources of sensor nodes. In this paper, we survey such techniques. Special focus in the paper is devoted to a systematic and comprehensive classification of the solutions proposed in the literature. We review each solution by highlighting its pros and cons. Finally, we discuss recent trends in provenance encoding schemes for WSNs.