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Security Issues and Attacks in Wireless Sensor Network

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DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wasj.2014.30.10.334

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World Applied Sciences Journal 30 (10): 1224-1227, 2014
ISSN 1818-4952
© IDOSI Publications, 2014
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wasj.2014.30.10.334

Security Issues and Attacks in Wireless Sensor Network

Raja Waseem Anwar, Majid Bakhtiari, Anazida Zainal,

Abdul Hanan Abdullah and Kashif Naseer Qureshi

Faculty of Computing, University Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Abstract: Wireless sensor network is one of the most growing technology for sensing and performing the
different tasks. Such networks are beneficial in many fields, such as emergencies, health monitoring,
environmental control, military, industries and these networks prone to malicious users' and physical attacks
due to radio range of network, un-trusted transmission, unattended nature and get access easily. Security is
a fundamental requirement for these networks. In this paper, our center of attention is on physical attacks and
issues in wireless sensor networks. Through this review, easily identify the purpose and capabilities of the
attackers. Further, we discuss well-known approaches of security detection against physical attacks.

Key words: Physical attacks Wireless sensor network Security

INTRODUCTION Overview of WSN: The WSN is based on the dense

deployment of disposable low energy, low cost
The nature of heterogeneous systems and tiny nodes for gathering real time information.
with many potential applications wireless sensor Common functions of WSN are broadcasting,
networks garnered a great deal of attention by multicasting and routing. These nodes consist of
researchers. The wireless networks contain hundred or three major components sensing, processing and
thousand tiny and low cost; low power and self organize communication. Various types of sensor network play a
sensor nodes perform their functions in network. significant role in the different field. In terrestrial wireless
The sensor nodes are highly distributed inside the sensor network nodes are dispersed and randomly or
system. The sensors nodes are used for monitoring pre-planned manner placed into the target area.
different environments in the cooperative manner and The battery power is limited in these networks.
compute the data for analyzing. The two components of Another type is underground WSNs, in this type the
wireless sensor network aggregation and base station, nodes are buried underground like cave or mine for
aggregation collect the information from there nearby monitoring the conditions. The nodes are expensive in
sensors, integrate them and send to the base station for this type compare to terrestrial type. The multimedia
processing. The wireless sensor network nature of sensor network has low cost nodes and equipped with
communication is unprotected and unsafe because of microphones and cameras. This type of network needs
deployment in hostile environment, limited resources, more bandwidth and high energy and quality of service
an automated nature and untrusted broadcast for processing the data. The underwater sensor networks
transmission media. The most of security techniques are located underwater for gathering the data and network
are not sufficient in WSN network and security nature is sparse. The signal fading, delay and long
is a vital requirement for network. The main objective of propagation are main issues in this networks [1].
this paper is to review different security dimensions of The wireless sensor network were primarily proposed
wireless networks such as integrity, confidentiality, in domains where wired networks are not suitable and
authenticity and availability. Further, overview on infrastructure missing. The hundred and thousand nodes
physical attacks on WSN and discuss security are needed to achieve the assigned task such as are
issues. military applications, shown in Figure 1.

Corresponding Author: Raja Waseem Anwar, Faculty of Computing, University Teknologi Malaysia,
81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

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Secure Localization: Wireless sensor network use

location based information for identifying the position of
nodes in the network. Few attacks are related with sensor
location by investigating for attacks. The attackers are
searching the header of packet and data for this purpose.
The secure localization is an important factor during
implementing security in the network.

Confidentiality: The confidentiality is restricted data

access to authorized personnel. The data should not leak
across adjacent sensor network. When one node sends
the highly sensitive data to the destination, it passes from
Fig. 1: Application of WSN [2] many nodes in the network. For the provision of security
in data, network protocols are using encryption technique
Security in WSN: Security is one of the main with a secret key, the message is sent in encrypted for to
characteristic of any system and traditional wireless the channel. Information should encrypt to protect from
sensor network affected with many types of attacks. traffic analysis attack [6].
The security attacks concern for WSN because of
physical accessibility of sensor and actuator devices in Authenticity: Authenticity is imperative in WSN,
network and usage of minimal capacity in a network. because an adversary can easily inject messages.
These weaknesses or security attacks still present in The receiver node need to guarantee that data used in any
WSN and can be handled using various security decision making process originate with trusted source.
architectures and security services like integrity and The data authenticity is to ensure of identities of
authenticity, confidentiality in the wireless domain [3]. communication nodes. It is required in various
administration tasks [4].
Security Issues in WSN
Availability: The availability in wireless sensor network Flexibility: The sensor network scenarios are different
ensures the network services are feasible even in the and depending on environmental conditions, hazards and
subsistence of denial of service attacks. The securities mission because they are changing frequently [5].
protocols perform the availability of data in the network The changing mission goals frequently need sensors to
with fixate low energy and storage with reuse of code in be reduced from settle nodes in the network.
network [4]. In availability, a few approaches choose to
adjust the code to reuse as much code as possible and Physical Attacks: A wireless sensor network is designed
make use of extra communication to achieve the same in layers form and these layers protect the sensor with
goal. various attacks as shown in Figure 2. The sensor
networks are power constraint with a limited
Self Organization: The wireless sensor network has computational power, because of these characteristics
many nodes for operations and deployed in different exposed the network for attackers. The physical attacks
locations and fields. In self-organization, the nodes are based on different strategies and effects. Below we
flexible to be self-organizing and self-healing in network. discuss physical attacks in detail.
The WSN is an Ad hoc network and all nodes are
independent in network and without infrastructure. Signal Jamming Attack: The signal or radio jamming
This intrinsic characteristic brings a great challenge for attack is transmit the radio signals emitted by the
wireless network and security, as well. receiving antenna at the same transmitter. The attack
techniques are constant, deceptive, random and reactive
Time Synchronization: The wireless sensor network jamming in this attack. These attacks effects on radio
applications rely on some type of synchronization. interference and resource exhaustion. The attack is based
The nodes have two states in the network on and sleep on modification class and always the availability integrity
and radio may be turn on or in sleep mode for period of is a main threat for WSN in this attack. It is belong to
time. The sensor calculates the end-to-end delay of a external and active threat model. The detection of this
packet [5]. attack possible through detecting background noise and

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sends a large number of packets to the base station.

The effects of this physical attack are disturbing the
network availability and node batteries exhaustion.
The path based DOS attack is belonged to modification
and fabrication class and availability and authenticity are
main threats for WSN network. In below Figure 2 shows
the nodes affected by path based DOS attack. Initially the
nodes along the path will rapidly become exhausted and
Fig. 2: Security in wireless sensor networks layers model after this the second nodes downstream from nodes along
the main path and unable to communicate with base
station. This is because of tree-structured topology and
in last; the path based DOS attacks can disable a much
wider region than simply a single path.

Node Outage Attack: The node outage attack is stopping

the functionality of WSN components and the attacks
apply physically or logically in network. The effects of
this attack are stopping the node services such as
reading, gathering and launching the functions.
The attack is belong to modification model and availability
and authenticities are main threats for this attack in
Fig. 3: Path Based DOS Attack in end-to-end network.
Communication [8]
Eavesdropping Attack: The eavesdropping is a detection
misbehavior detection techniques. Another detection of contents of communication by overhearing attempt to
method is statistical information and channel utility data and apply through WSN transmission medium.
degradation than a threshold. The WSN network has The eavesdropping is also called confidentiality and
some defensive approaches to protect from these attacks lead to wormhole or blackhole attacks in network [9].
such as encryption approach, access restriction, The effects of this attack are extracting sensitive WSN
buffering, reporting attacks to base station and through information and delete the privacy and confidentiality of
mapping protocols. nodes. The attack is belongs to intersection model and
confidentiality is a main threat in network for this attack
Tempering and Capturing Attack: Another physical and based on external and passive threat models.
attack is device-tempering attack on network; the attacker
captured the sensor node physically and replaces the DOS (Denial of Services) Attack: The DOS attack is a
node with their malicious node. The effects of this attack general attack and applies on layers such as data link
are stopping the services or disturb the network and may layer, network layer and transport layer etc. In this attack,
control over the captured node [7]. This attack belongs to the attacker can inject fake broadcast packets to force
intersection, modification and fabrication security class. sensor node to perform expensive signature verification.
The availability, integrity and confidentiality are The DOS attack effects the layers and their functions in
the attack threat in this class. The detection of this type network. The DOS attack is belongs to interruption and
of attack possible through sensor node disconnection, intersection security class and availability, integrity and
node destruction and notice misbehavior of the node in authenticity are main threats for this attack [10].
network. The defensive mechanism is optimizing and
using crypto-processors and applying standard CONCLUSION
precautions in network. Further the physical protection of
node and malicious node detection techniques are protect Provision of security in network is a vital requirement
the network from these attacks. for sufficient and stable network in communication
technologies. It is a complex feature to deploy in wireless
Path Based DOS Attack: The path based DOS attack is sensor network because due to the nature of network.
another category of physical attaches and typically, The most physical security attacks disturb the WSN
combination of jamming attack. In this attack, the attacker security dimensions like confidentiality, integrity,

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authenticity and availability. In this short review, 5. Pooja, M. and D.Y. Singh, 2013. Security Issues and
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them independently and comprehensively. Comput. Trends Tech, pp: 5-6.
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