The MCD Protocol for Securing Wireless Sensor Networks against Nodes Replication Attacks

Often deployed in hostile environments, sensor networks have become an easy target for a variety of attacks such as: intrusion, Denial of service, eavesdropping. While most of these threats can be prevented using cryptographic materials, the node replication attack, also called "clone attack" remains undetectable, this is why it is considered one of the most insidious attacks not only because it goes unnoticed but it is also the entry point of internal attacks that can have disastrous consequences on the network. Several studies have focused on methods to detect the clone attacks and various protocols have resulted, but the absence of an "ideal solution" fact that various publications spend again. In this paper, we present a new protocol: Mobile assisted Clone Detection scheme (MCD) which is a hybrid protocol effective and efficient resistant against two realistic adversary models: the vanishing and the persistent adversary and providing high detection rate, while incurring limited overhead.