Simple and Efficient Key Management Method for Hierarchical Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors

Mohammed A. Altaha
Department of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
Wisam Mahmood Lafta
Department of Computer Science, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
Ghazwan Abdulnabi Al Ali
Department of Computer Science (Educational Science), University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
Ahmed Adil Alkadhmawee
Department of English, College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52549/ijeei.v12i4.5782
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Published: 23-11-2024 • Issue: Vol. 12 No. 4: December 2024 • Section: Regular paper

Abstract

Security is an important consideration for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), and key management plays a pivotal role in facilitating safe communication and data transfer. Key management must be designed with the constraints of these networks in mind, which include limited computation capabilities, memory, and energy. Achieving secure and efficient communication in large-scale WSNs is a significant challenge. In this paper, we propose a simple key management method for securing hierarchical WSNs, which employs only a few hash functions and XOR operations to derive shared keys. Its simplicity makes optimal use of resources and offers an efficient approach to establishing keys for sensor nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme reduces energy consumption by 15% and decreases the key establishment time by 20% compared to existing methods such as LKMS, while maintaining strong security with low computational and communication costs, which are crucial considerations for WSNs.
Keywords: Hash function; Key management; XOR operation; Wireless sensor network.

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Author Biographies

Mohammed A. Altaha
is a Lecturer at university of Basrah. Complete his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the College of Education for Pure Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq (2009), completed his master’s degree in Computer Science from the college of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq (2018), currently works as a lecture in the College of Veterinary, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq, published several scientific researches in computer science. He can be contacted at email: mohammed.altaha@uobasrah.edu.iq.
Wisam Mahmood Lafta
Was born in Baghdad, Iraq. Received a BSc in computer science from the University of Technology; the MSc at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. He is currently a faculty member in the computer science department, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq. He has some important published papers in international journals and a reviewer at some international journals. He can be contacted at email: wisam.m.lafta@uotechnology.edu.iq.
Ghazwan Abdulnabi Al Ali
received the B.S. degree in Computer Science from Iraq, University of Basra, and the M.S. degree in Computer Science from The University of Science Malaysia. He is currently working as a programmer at the University of Basra. His research interests include software engineering and deep learning. He can be contacted atghazwan.alali@uobasrah.edu.iq.
Ahmed Adil Alkadhmawee
is a Ass. Profesore at Basrah University, Iraq. He holds an M. Sc degree in Computer Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. He is research areas are Wireless Sensor Network, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. He has authored more than 11 publications: 1 proceeding and 10 journals, with 3 Hindex and more than 19 citations. He can be contacted at email: ahmedadel@uobasrah.edu.iq.

How to Cite

[1]
M. A. Altaha, W. M. Lafta, G. A. Al Ali, and A. A. Alkadhmawee, “Simple and Efficient Key Management Method for Hierarchical Wireless Sensor Networks”, IJEEI, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 914–925, Nov. 2024, doi: 10.52549/ijeei.v12i4.5782.