Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh Networks: Survey of Communication and Security Protocols

Abstract

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Mesh Networks enable flexible and reliable communications for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Most BLE-based mesh protocols are implemented as overlays on top of the standard Bluetooth star topologies while using piconets and scatternets. Nonetheless, mesh topology support has increased the vulnerability of BLE to security threats, since a larger number of devices can participate in a BLE Mesh network. To address these concerns, BLE version 5 enhanced existing BLE security features to deal with various authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality issues. However, there is still a lack of detailed studies related to these new security features. This survey examines the most recent BLE-based mesh network protocols and related security issues. In the first part, the latest BLE-based mesh communication protocols are discussed. The analysis shows that the implementation of BLE pure mesh protocols remains an open research issue. Moreover, there is a lack of auto-configuration mechanisms in order to support bootstrapping of BLE pure mesh networks. In the second part, recent BLE-related security issues and vulnerabilities are highlighted. Strong Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are essential for detecting security breaches in order to protect against zero-day exploits. Nonetheless, viable IDS solutions for BLE Mesh networks remain a nascent research area. Consequently, a comparative survey of IDS approaches for related low-power wireless protocols was used to map out potential approaches for enhancing IDS solutions for BLE Mesh networks.

Security and Privacy Threats for Bluetooth Low Energy in IoT and Wearable Devices: A Comprehensive Survey

“…So, there are many research opportunities to create a secured mesh network using short-range BLE technology. As a huge number of devices are participating in this network, there are many security and privacy concerns that need to be investigated [172] at the physical, link, network, and application layers. Some open issues in the BLE mesh network [173] are real-time communication [174], efficient multicast [173], efficient authentication, efficient auto-configuration, and interoperability.…”

“…There is a lack of efficient techniques to secure the BLE mesh network. Currently, there is an open research opportunity to protect the BLE mesh network from zero-day vulnerability, DoS attacks, spoofing attacks [110] using intrusion detection systems [172], [179] and intrusion prevention systems, and watchdogs. Introducing new aspects of machine learning algorithms is a promising area of research for enhancing the security and privacy of IoT devices.…”

IoT Security Mechanisms in the Example of BLE

“…Devices that are not a part of any mesh network are called unprovisioned devices. The provisioning process [17] is carried out by a provisioner device, which authenticates unprovisioned devices, assigns an address, and transmits encryption keys [18]. Further configuration of a node is performed by a configuration client, which can be a part of a provisioner device or a part of another node.…”

PCO-Based BLE Mesh Accelerator

“…Any other solution for BLE mesh must be implemented on top of the stack in the application layer, which necessarily incurs a communication overhead. Furthermore, in the literature there are few measured power results for Bluetooth multi-hop networks, as most results are based on analytical calculations or simulations [ 7 , 8 ].…”