A secure interconnection model for IPv6 enabled wireless sensor networks

The usage of IPv6 on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can enable the integration of existing and new sensing applications with the Internet, therefore contributing to a major evolution towards the realization of the internet of things. We believe this vision to be realizable only if security is properly addressed. Although many proposals do exist in the literature to address specific security issues on sensor networks, a new security model and security mechanisms are needed to support the secure integration of IP enabled WSNs with the Internet. Such a security model should allow for end-to-end security and should be able to provide mechanisms that allow for the flexible adaptation of security to the resource limitations of sensor nodes. We propose and evaluate a new secure interconnection model and security mechanisms to enable the secure integration of IP enabled WSNs with the Internet. Our model introduces 6lowpan security headers to enable end-to-end security between sensor nodes and hosts in the Internet, while also providing mechanisms to selectively control the energy expended with security operations on the WSN. Although the usage of security at the network layer on WSNs is not consensual, we believe that its proper design and implementation can bring a substantial contribution to the evolution of the Internet.