Abstract: Wireless networks consisting of low-power sensing devices are becoming a ubiquitous part of the computing landscape. The emerging applications of these sensor networks range from healthcare to warfare. Most of these applications require protection of sensitive information. However, developing security services (confidentiality, authentication, etc.) for sensor networks in a manner that meets the stringent resource constraints is a challenging task. This challenge is further complicated by the ad hoc nature, intermittent wireless connectivity, large scale, and unattended deployment of sensor networks. As a result, sensor networks are highly vulnerable to physical node capture and other attacks that may compromise critical security data, including encryption keys used for confidentiality and authentication. Consequently, it is necessary to provide sensor network key management services that, in addition to being resource-efficient, are highly resilient to attacks. We observe that sensor networks are inherently collaborative environments in which sensor nodes self-organize and operate in groups that typically are dynamic and mission-driven. In this talk, we present a dynamic group-keying scheme for large-scale long-lived sensor networks consisting of low-end sensor nodes clustered around more capable gateway nodes. Our solution is built upon Exclusion Basis Systems, a combinatorial formulation of the group key management problem.

The scheme distributes key management functionality among multiple nodes. Using cluster-based administrative keys, the scheme can localize the impact of attacks as well as considerably improve the efficiency of maintaining freshness of communication keys. A primary advantage is the scheme’s resilience to both multi-sensor and gateway captures.

Biography: Mohamed Eltoweissy is an associate professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. He also holds a courtesy appointment in Computer Science. Eltoweissy is founder and director of the Center for Cyber Assurance and Trust (CyCare). Eltoweissy has over 80 publications in archival journals and respected books and conference proceedings. Among Eltoweissy’s research contributions are novel combinatorial-based survivable key management schemes for sensor and ad hoc networks, service-centric architecture for sensor networks, and stochastic models for the optimization of security protocols. Eltoweissy is also active in serving on program committees and NSF panels, in journal editorials and organization of professional meetings. Eltoweissy is a senior member of IEEE, and a member of ACM, ACM SIGBED, and ACM SIGSAC. In 2003, Eltoweissy was nominated for the Virginia SCHEV outstanding faculty awards; the highest honor for faculty in Virginia.

More information may be found at: http://europa.nvc.cs.vt.edu/~toweissy/