The Impact of Java and Public Key Cryptography in Wireless Sensor Networking

The evolution of wireless sensor networks continues through the arrival of the Java development environment. More intuitive to a wider range of developers, and incorporating more powerful hardware; a number of residual research problems facing designers of wireless sensor networks have been addressed. The objective of this paper is to introduce and provide some exposure to the latest development environment available for wireless sensor networking, illustrate what achievements have already been made, and their immediate impact in the field. In particular, the problem of securing a potential deployment has been one of the major inhibitors to the widespread implementation of sensor networks; a problem which has been thoroughly addressed in the design of the Sun platform. This solution comes in the guise of a fully implemented and operational public key infrastructure. This paper critiques the security services provided; whilst considering current knowledge pertaining to the security of wireless sensor networks, in conjunction with the advantages of such a system and the opportunities it provides.