An efficient protocol for authentication and initial shared key establishment in clustered wireless sensor networks

This paper proposes an efficient protocol for authentication and shared key establishment in hierarchical clustered wireless sensor networks. The protocol authenticates a source node to a base station, designates a cluster head to each authenticated source node and establishes shared keys between source node and the base station as well as with the cluster head. The above tasks are accomplished in a single step to reduce the required channel capacities. The protocol is implemented for TinyOS using NesC, simulated under TOSSIM and is viable for implementation in resource-constrained platforms like MICA. The security analysis shows that this protocol could withstand several possible attacks in the network