CPSLP: A Cloud-Based Scheme for Protecting Source Location Privacy in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Multi-Sinks

Source location privacy is a major problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). WSNs are usually deployed in random areas with no protection. The source location reveals valuable information about targets. If an adversary locates the source node by analyzing the traffic mode, a target can be easily attacked. In this paper, a scheme based on the cloud using multi-sinks (CPSLP) is proposed to address the issue of source location privacy. The authors propose a scheme that changes packet destinations randomly in each transmission. In addition, multiple sinks are adopted to create many routing paths. The introduction of an intermediate node renders the routing path more random and flexible. Then, a cloud-shaped fake hotspot is created to add fake packets into the WSN to confuse the adversary and provide a comprehensive privacy location. Each valuable packet is routed through a path that is quite difficult for the hotspot-locating adversary to find directly. Simulation results illustrate that the CPSLP scheme can prevent adversarial capture and maintain a high level of privacy protection at the same time. The energy consumption in this scheme exerts limited influence on the network lifetime compared with a cloud-based scheme and an all-direction random routing algorithm scheme.