The problem of providing energy efficient trust-aware routing arises due to easy exposure to insecure conditions and highly constrained nature of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The reputation system-based solutions reported in the literature require the nodes to be in promiscuous mode to monitor continuously its environment to detect misbehaviour events which is considered to be a costly operation for WSN nodes due to their limited resources. In this chapter, a reputation system-based technique using efficient monitoring approach called Efficient Monitoring Procedure In Reputation System (EMPIRE) for trust-aware routing in WSNs is presented. EMPIRE provides a probabilistic distributed monitoring methodology that reduces the nodal monitoring activities, while keeping the performance of the system, from the behaviour and trust awareness perspective, at a desirable level. Simulation results of the reputation system show that reducing monitoring activities with EMPIRE does not have a significant impact on system performance in terms of security.

Chapter Contents:

• 18.1 Introduction
• 18.2 Secure routing
• 18.3 Reputation system for trust-aware routing
• 18.4 Efficient monitoring procedure in reputation system
• 18.4.1 EMPIRE approach
• 18.4.1.1 Algorithm description
• 18.4.1.2 Non-forwarding attack detection
• 18.4.2 EMPIRE validation
• 18.4.2.1 Simulation objectives and performance measures
• 18.4.2.2 Simulation setup, results and analysis
• 18.5 Performance evaluation of reputation system adopting EMPIRE
• 18.6 Further developments
• 18.7 Conclusion
• References

Inspec keywords: energy conservation; telecommunication network routing; telecommunication security; wireless sensor networks

Other keywords: energy efficient trust-aware routing; EMPIRE; reputation system-based technique; WSN nodes; nodal monitoring activity; wireless sensor networks; efficient monitoring procedure in reputation system

Subjects: Data security; Wireless sensor networks; Communication network design, planning and routing