Secure Cluster Based Energy Aware Routing for Wireless Sensor Networks

Present research on wireless sensor networks has focused on routing and security independently. In this paper, we present a Secure, Cluster-based, Energy Aware Routing (SCEAR) scheme that provides both a hierarchal energy aware routing and a secure environment for communication. In our approach, the network is divided into clusters with a cluster-head that aggregates the information and securely sends this information to the global base station over a multi-hop network of cluster-heads. Security is incorporated using Identity based public key cryptography and symmetric key cryptography. Using these techniques, our protocol provides a flexible security mechanism for the resource constrained sensor network. The proposed scheme combines security and routing in a more scalable manner in comparison to other approaches. Simulation results have shown that the energy overhead of security is minimal and the scheme balances the energy consumption across the network.