Small data dissemination for wireless sensor networks: The security aspect

In wireless sensor networks small data dissemination protocols are used to adjust configuration parameters of sensors, or distribute management commands and queries to sensors. For security reasons every disseminated data item should be authenticated to prevent an adversary from installing malicious data items in the network. Unfortunately, security is not among the design considerations of existing small data dissemination protocols. In this article we identify the security vulnerabilities of these protocols and review a recently proposed solution addressing this issue. Furthermore, we suggest an enhancement to this solution to make the security function more efficient.