Efficient authentication, traitor detection, and privacy-preserving for the most common queries in two-tiered wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are being used more and more and are becoming a key technology in applications ranging from military ones to ones used in daily life. There are basic architectures: one comprising sensors and a server and one comprising sensors, a server, and storage nodes between them ("two-tiered architecture"). We investigate this second type as it has many advantages in terms of energy usage, computation, and data transmission. Although two-tiered wireless sensor networks have many advantages, security is a critical due to three main problems. First, sensors located in hostile areas can be surreptitiously replaced with fake ones that send bogus data. Second, an attacker could install new sensors with valid authentication keys that send bogus data to storage nodes and deceive the server. Third, a storage nodes could be compromised and reveal data received from sensors. Therefore, the server must authenticate sensors before accepting data from them, detect whether a key was intercepted and identify which one, and handle the most common queries while preserving the privacy of data received from storage nodes. W have developed a novel solution using Non-Adaptive Group Testing that enables a server to perform these tasks efficiently and effectively. This solution is secure with high probability against an attack that tries to guess sensor data and thus protects data confidentiality.