A source-location privacy protection strategy via pseudo normal distribution-based phantom routing in WSNs

Abstract

Toward resolving the source-location privacy protection issue in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), a Pseudo Normal Distribution-based Phantom Routing (PNDBPR) protocol is proposed in this paper. The proposed protocol is composed of two critical phases: 1) adjusting the value of minimum-hops between a phantom node and its source, and varying the area of the phantom node distribution region at the network deployment stage; 2) generating a set of Gaussian-distributed random real numbers using the Pseudo Random Generator when the source node is transmitting data packets, and calculating the corresponding random walk hops. Theoretical analyses and simulation results show that PNDBPR can dramatically improve the diversity and the dynamicity of the phantom nodes distribution at the expense of a slight increase in communication overheads when compared with the existing PUSBRF (Source Location Privacy Preservation Protocol in Wireless Sensor Network Using Source Based Restricted Flooding) and HBDRW (A hopbased directed random walk) protocols.

Secure Routing Protocols for Source Node Privacy Protection in Multi-Hop Communication Wireless Networks

“…Examples of routing protocols which adopt phantom routing include the trace cost based source location privacy protection scheme [9], phantom walkabouts routing protocol [13], the phantom routing with locational angle [22], and the energy efficient privacy preserved routing algorithm [23]. Similarly, the phantom routing strategy is adopted in the multiple-phantom nodes routing scheme [24], the grid-based single phantom node and grid-based dual phantom node source location privacy protection schemes [25], the self-adjusting directed random walk approach [26], and the pseudo normal distribution-based phantom routing protocol [27]. The baseline phantom routing protocol offers low levels of SLP protection because it employs short and predictable routing paths.…”

An Efficient Source Location Privacy Protection Algorithm Based on Circular Trap for Wireless Sensor Networks

“…Li et al [21] propose a novel routing strategy to protect the SLP, which consists of directional random routing, h-hop routing in the annular region and the shortest path routing. In the Reference [16], the authors propose a SLP protection strategy via pseudo normal distribution-based phantom routing. Zhou et al [22] protect the SLP by utilizing the sensor ability of perceiving the presence of a mobile attacker nearby.…”

“…The existing source location privacy (SLP) protection methods [13][14][15][16][17][18] mainly protect the SLP by increasing the variety of routing paths, such as phantom routing, multi-path routing, and false information source injection and other secure routing mechanisms. Most of these technologies sacrifice network performance for a certain level of security and are not suitable for applications that require high query efficiency.…”