Localized Algorithms for Detection of Node Replication Attacks in Mobile Sensor Networks

We deal with the challenging problem of node replication detection. Although defending against node replication attacks demands immediate attention, compared to the extensive exploration on the defense against node replication attacks in static networks, only a few solutions in mobile networks have been presented. Moreover, while most of the existing schemes in static networks rely on the witness-finding strategy, which cannot be applied to mobile networks, the velocity-exceeding strategy used in existing schemes in mobile networks incurs efficiency and security problems. Therefore, based on our devised challenge-and-response and encounter-number approaches, localized algorithms are proposed to resist node replication attacks in mobile sensor networks. The advantages of our proposed algorithms include 1) localized detection; 2) efficiency and effectiveness; 3) network-wide synchronization avoidance; and 4) network-wide revocation avoidance. Performance comparisons with known methods are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed algorithms. Prototype implementation on TelosB mote demonstrates the practicality of our proposed methods.