Key Predistribution Scheme Using Keyed-Hash Chain and Multipath Key Reinforcement for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, the authors present an efficient, effective, and secure mechanism for key-distribution in homogeneous Wireless Sensor Network (WSNs). The scheme is based on multipath key reinforcement. The authors introduce the concept of a keyed-hash-chain to use a different key in each session between a pair of sensors, without allocating a large amount of memory space to store the keys. First, each sensor node is preloaded with a number of generation keys. Using these generation keys and a publicly known seed value in a pre-defined hash function, distinct key-chains are generated. Multipath key reinforcement is used to update the number of iterations to achieve a higher level of security.