Group-based key management protocol for energy efficiency in long-lived and large-scale distributed sensor networks

As wireless sensor networks grow, so does the need for effective security mechanisms. We propose a cryptographic key-management protocol, called energy-efficient key-management (eekm) protocol. Using a location-based group key scheme, the protocol supports the revocation of compromised nodes and energy-efficient rekeying. The design is motivated by the observation that unicast-based rekeying does not meet the security requirements of periodic rekeying in long-lived wireless sensor networks. eekm supports broadcast-based rekeying for low-energy key management and high resilience. In addition, to match the increasing complexity of encryption keys, the protocol uses a dynamic composition key scheme. eekm also provides group-management protocols for secure group communication. We analyzed the energy efficiency and security of eekm and compared it to other key-management protocols using a network simulator.