Key Establishment Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks usually comprise a number of sensors with limited resources. Each sensor includes sensing equipment, a data processing unit, a short range radio device and a battery [Pottie & Kaiser, 2000; Kahn et al.,1999; Akyildiz, 2002]. These networks have been considered for various purposes including border security, military target tracking and scientific research in dangerous environments [Perrig et. al., 2002; Kung & Vlah, 2003; Brooks, 2003]. Since the sensors may reside in an unattended and/or hostile environment, security is a critical issue. An adversary could easily access the wireless channel and intercept the transmitted information, or distribute false information in the network. Under such circumstances, authentication and confidentiality should be used to achieve network security. Since authentication and confidentiality protocols require a shared key between entities, key management is one of the most challenging issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) [Perrig et. al., 2002].