An Analysis into Physical and Virtual Power Draw Characteristics of Embedded Wireless Sensor Network Devices under...

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity
• Embedded Systems
• Network Engineering

Background:

• Rising cybercrime targets critical infrastructure, increasingly utilizing embedded devices.
• Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks on embedded devices pose significant risks to network stability and reliability.
• Embedded devices are vulnerable to battery drain and system hangs due to excessive loads.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the consequences of DoS attacks on embedded devices within wireless sensor networks (WSNs).
• To simulate excessive loads on WSN embedded devices using Contiki OS and analyze power draw.
• To evaluate the impact of exploiting the Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) on device power consumption.

Main Methods:

• Simulations of DoS attacks on physical and virtualized WSN embedded devices running Contiki OS.
• Experimentation focused on power draw metrics, including percentage increase over baseline.
• Utilized inline power analyzers for physical devices and the PowerTracker Cooja plugin for virtualized devices.

Main Results:

• Peak power draining was observed at a malicious-node-to-sensor device ratio of 13-to-1.
• Power usage decreased in a simulated 16-sensor network, indicating scalability effects.
• Analysis focused on embedded Linux platforms and Contiki OS, characterizing power draw patterns.

Conclusions:

• The ratio of malicious to sensor devices significantly impacts power consumption during DoS attacks.
• Network size and topology influence the overall power draw and effectiveness of attacks.
• Understanding these power characteristics is crucial for securing embedded systems in critical infrastructure.