Safety Aspects of Enhanced Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) consist of movable and stationary nodes, which usually communicate using the acoustic channel. Underwater acoustic communication networks are particularly susceptible to malicious attacks due to the high transmission power requirements, rapidly changing channel characteristics, multi-path echoes, high bit error rates, high ambient noise, high and varying propagation delays, and low bandwidth of acoustic channels. The distinctive characteristics of the underwater acoustic communication channel and the difference between underwater sensor network and their ground-based counterparts require the development of efficient and reliable security mechanisms. In order to achieve the optimal performance an underwater network must be able to sense its ambient environment and react by adapting its communication parameters smoothly. This paper presents a complete analysis of safety measurements for UASNs and the research challenges for secure