Sybil attack type detection in Wireless Sensor networks based on received signal strength indicator detection scheme

A Wireless Sensor network is very exposed to different type of attacks and the most common one is the Sybil attack. A Sybil node tries to assume a false identity of other nodes from a network by broadcasting packets with multiple node IDs in order to get access into that network. Once it gains access into that network, it can lead to other type of attacks. As an alternative to other solutions which are based on random key distribution, trusted certification and other classic security schemes, we present a solution which is robust and lightweight enough for Sybil attack type detection, based on RSSI (received signal strength indicator). In today´s modern wireless sensor networks, there are two known indicators for link quality estimation: Received Signal Strength Indicator and Link Quality Indicator (LQI). We show trough experiments that RSSI is stable enough when used in static environments and with good transceivers. According to wireless channel models, received power should be a function of distance, but we used it to localize Sybil nodes.