Authenticated query flooding in sensor networks

Abstract

We propose a novel mechanism for authentication of queries in a sensor network in case these queries are flooded. In our protocol, the base station appends an authenticator to every query, such that each sensor can verify with certain probability that the query is sent by the base station. Implicit cooperation between sensor nodes during the flooding process ensures that legitimate queries propagate quickly in the network, whereas the propagation of illegitimate queries is limited to only a small part of the network. © 2006 International Federation for Information Processing.