Multi-Level μTESLA: A Broadcast Authentication System for Distributed Sensor Networks∗

Broadcast authentication is a fundamental security service in distributed sensor networks. This paper presents the development of a scalable broadcast authentication scheme named multi-level μTESLA based on μTESLA, a broadcast authentication protocol whose scalability is limited by its unicast based initial parameter distribution. Multi-level μTESLA satisfies several nice properties, including low overhead, tolerance of message loss, scalability to large networks, and resistance to replay attacks as well as denial of service attacks. This paper also presents the development of a multi-level μTESLA broadcast authentication system on TinyOS, an operating system for networked sensors, and experimental results obtained through simulation.