An energy-trust balanced and attack-resilient cluster head election scheme for resource-constrained wireless sensor...

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Network Security
• Distributed Systems

Background:

• Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) require efficient Cluster Head (CH) selection for energy conservation and security.
• Existing protocols like LEACH and ISSA lack integrated security metrics, causing vulnerabilities and uneven energy use.
• Mission-critical WSNs demand robust and energy-aware CH election mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel Energy-Driven Cluster Head Secure Selection (ED-CHSS) algorithm.
• To enhance CH selection by integrating residual energy, trust, and security metrics.
• To improve overall WSN performance in terms of energy efficiency and network lifetime.

Main Methods:

• Developed the ED-CHSS algorithm incorporating residual-energy modeling and node trust-index evaluation.
• Utilized lightweight symmetric cryptographic primitives for secure intra-cluster communication.
• Designed a multi-parameter optimization model for CH election, considering residual energy, communication cost, and trust weights.
• Dynamically adapted CH candidacy probability based on node density and link stability.

Main Results:

• ED-CHSS reduced average energy dissipation by 28-32%.
• Network lifetime was extended by approximately 38-42%.
• The algorithm demonstrated increased resistance against selective forwarding and sinkhole attacks.

Conclusions:

• The ED-CHSS algorithm offers a secure and energy-balanced clustering solution for WSNs.
• The proposed method effectively addresses the limitations of traditional WSN clustering protocols.
• ED-CHSS is suitable for mission-critical WSN deployments requiring high security and longevity.