User privacy and data trustworthiness in mobile crowd sensing

Smartphones and other trendy mobile wearable devices are rapidly becoming the dominant sensing, computing and communication devices in peoples´ daily lives. Mobile crowd sensing is an emerging technology based on the sensing and networking capabilities of such mobile wearable devices. MCS has shown great potential in improving peoples´ quality of life, including healthcare and transportation, and thus has found a wide range of novel applications. However, user privacy and data trustworthiness are two critical challenges faced by MCS. In this article, we introduce the architecture of MCS and discuss its unique characteristics and advantages over traditional wireless sensor networks, which result in inapplicability of most existing WSN security solutions. Furthermore, we summarize recent advances in these areas and suggest some future research directions.