Deployment Aware Modeling of Node Compromise Spread in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Epidemic Theory

As wireless sensor networks are unfolding their vast potential in a plethora of application environments, security still remains one of the most critical challenges yet to be fully addressed. In particular, a vital problem in the highly distributed and resource constrained environment is node compromise, where a sensor node can be completely captured and manipulated by the adversary. While extensive work has focused on designing schemes that can either defend and delay node capture or timely identify and revoke compromised nodes themselves, little attention has been paid to the node compromise process itself.