The new intrusion prevention and detection approaches for clustering-based sensor networks [wireless sensor networks]

In this paper, we propose two approaches to improve the security of clustering-based sensor networks: authentication-based intrusion prevention and energy-saving intrusion detection. In the first approach, different authentication mechanisms are adopted for two common packet categories in generic sensor networks to save the energy of each node. In the second approach, different monitoring mechanisms are also needed to monitor cluster-heads (CHs) and member nodes according to their importance. When monitoring CHs, member nodes of a CH take turns to monitor this CH. This mechanism reduces the monitor time, and therefore saves the energy of the member nodes. When monitoring member nodes, CHs have the authority to detect and revoke the malicious member nodes. This also saves the node energy because of using CHs to monitor member nodes instead of using all the member nodes to monitor each other. Finally, simulations are performed and compared with LEACH, based on an ns2 LEACH CAD tool. The simulation result shows that the proposed approaches obviously extend the network lifetime when the clustering-based sensor network is under attack.