Damian Rusinek

Security trade-off and energy efficiency analysis in wireless sensor networks

With a rapid progress of numerous applications in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), performance evaluation and analysis techniques face new challenges in energy efficiency area in WSN applications. One of the key issues is to perform the security trade-off and energy efficiency analysis. In this paper, the energy analysis module for the QoP-ML (quality of protection modeling language) is proposed by means of which one can analyze the influence of various security levels on the energy consumption of a protocol. Moreover, an advanced communication module is proposed as an extension of the QoP-ML language, which enhances the abilities to analyze complex wireless sensor networks. The case study of WSN deployed on the Jindo Bridge in South Korea was carried out and the lifetime of protocols with various security levels was simulated. The results show that the introduction of various security levels can entail large differences in performance and energy consumption, and hence result in different lifetime. Therefore, the designers of WSN protocols should search for balance between the required lifetime and security level. The introduced QoP-ML extension, along with the AQoPA (automated quality of protection analysis) tool, has been developed to meet the above requirements.

On the efficiency modelling of cryptographic protocols by means of the quality of protection modelling language (QoP-ML)

The problem of efficiency in the IT systems is now widely discussed. One of the factors affecting the performance of IT systems is implementation and maintaining a high level of security. In many cases the guaranteed security level is too high in relation to the real threats. The implementation and maintenance of this protection level is expensive in terms of both productivity and financial costs. The paper presents the analysis of TLS Handshake protocol in terms of quality of protection performed by the Quality of Protection Modelling Language (QoP-ML). The analysis concerns efficiency.

Multihop Node Authentication Mechanisms for Wireless Sensor Networks

Designing secure authentication mechanisms in wireless sensor networks in order to associate a node to a secure network is not an easy task due to the limitations of this type of networks. In this paper, we propose different multihop node authentication protocols for wireless sensor networks. For each protocol, we provide a formal proof using Scyther to verify the security of our proposals. We also provide implementation results in terms of execution time consumption obtained by real measurements on TelosB motes. These protocols offer different levels of quality of protection depending on the design of the protocol itself. Finally, we evaluate the overhead of protection of each solution, using AQoPA tool, by varying the security parameters and studying the effect on execution time overhead of each protocol for several network sizes.

On the modelling of Kerberos protocol in the Quality of Protection Modelling Language (QoP-ML)

The security modelling of IT systems is a very complicated task. One of the issues which must be analysed is the performance of IT systems. In many cases the guaranteed security level is too high in relation to the real threats. The overestimation of security measures can decrease system performance. The paper presents the analysis of Kerberos cryptographic protocol in terms of quality of protection performed by Quality of Protection Modelling Language (QoP-ML). The analysis concerns the availability attribute. In the article the Kerberos protocol was modelled and the QoP analysis of two selected versions was performed.

Voter non-repudiation oriented scheme for the medium scale e-voting protocol

Recently, we have observed the growth of the E-voting cryptographic protocols. The researchers have presented many solutions and extended the list of requirements. With the expandig of the internet the protocols must improve its safety. The aim of this paper is to deliver an analysis of a new e-voting protocol based on Cetinkayas DynaVote solution. We have attached new features that improve security requirements and assure non-repudiation of voters that may be necessary in specific voting scenarios. It has been designed so the institution holding the election must have proof pointing out voters who have sent a vote.

Secure and Reliable Localization in Wireless Sensor Network Based on RSSI Mapping

The growing number of mobile devices and the popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) applications have caused an increase of local-area location-aware protocols and applications. Localization has become a popular topic in the literature and many localization algorithms in wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been proposed. However, the most of them are vulnerable to common wireless attacks. In this article, we introduce the secure localization protocol based on a RSSI-mapping, which uses symmetric cryptography. The security attributes of the protocol have been proved using the Scyther tool. We present the experimental results that demonstrate the ability to estimate sensor’s location in the environment, where other networks are available. The results show, that the introduction of security mechanisms to localization protocols may significantly increase the execution time and exceed strict time restrictions in some real-time applications. Nevertheless, the existence of insecure protocol in hostile environment is unacceptable. To achieve a better efficiency, we suggest to use the hardware encryption provided in CC2420 radio chip.

Influence of CCM, CBC-MAC, CTR and stand-alone encryption on the quality of transmitted data in the high-performance WSN based on Imote2

In this paper we examine the influence of different types of encryption and authentication on the quality of transmitted data in the high-performance WSN based on Imote2. The performance has been tested in the wireless sensor network using Collection Tree Protocol. The examined types and modes of encryption are provided by the hardware of used sensor platforms Intelmote2 and its integrated radio chip CC2420. The presented results can be helpful to choose which cryptographic modules should be implemented according to the acceptable packet loss.

AQoPA: Automated Quality of Protection Analysis Framework for Complex Systems

Analysis of security economics for the IT systems is one of the important issues to be solved. The quality of protection (QoP) of IT System can be achieved on different levels. One can choose factors which have a different impact on the overall system security. Traditionally, security engineers configure IT systems with the strongest possible security mechanisms. Unfortunately, the strongest protection (especially in low resource devices) can lead to unreasoned increase of the system load and finally influence system availability. In such a situation the quality of protection models which scales the protection level depending on the specific requirements can be used. One of the most challenging issues for quality of protection models is performing quality of protection evaluation for complex and distributed systems. The manual analysis of such systems is almost impossible to perform. In the article, we proposed the Automated Quality of Protection Analysis framework (AQoPA). The AQoPA performs the automatic evaluation of complex system models which are created in the Quality of Protection Modelling Language (QoP-ML). In the article the case study of complex wireless sensor network analysis is presented. The network is deployed on a roller-coaster.

On the Balancing Security Against Performance in Database Systems

Balancing security against performance for IT systems is one of the most important issues to be solved. The quality of protection of systems can be achieved on different levels. One can choose factors which have a different impact on the overall system security. Traditionally, security engineers configure IT systems with the strongest possible security mechanisms. Unfortunately, the strongest protection can lead to unreasoned increase of the system load and finally influence system availability. In such a situation the quality of protection models which scale the protection level depending on the specific requirements can be used. In the article, we present the approach which enables balancing security against performance for database systems. The analysis is performed by Automated Quality of Protection Analysis (AQoPA) tool which allow automatic evaluation of system models which are created in the Quality of Protection Modelling Language (QoP-ML).

On the Effect of Security and Communication Factors in the Reliability of Wireless Sensor Networks

The ensuring reliability of wireless sensor networks (WSN) is one of most important problems to be solved. In this article, the influence of the security and communication factors in the reliability of Wireless Sensor Networks was analyzed. Balancing security against performance in WSN is another issue to be solved. These factors should be considered during security analysis of quality of protection of realized protocol. In the article, we analyze wireless sensor network where hierarchical topologies is implemented with high performance routing sensors that forward big amount of data. We present the experiment results which were performed by high-performance Imote2 sensor platform and TinyOS operating system.