ENHANCING ENERGY AND MEMORY EFFICIENCY IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS THROUGH EFFECTIVE CLONE DETECTION

Abstract

We introduce an energy-efficient clone detection protocol tailored for densely populated
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) to bolster clone attack detection and sustain network longevity.
Leveraging geolocation data from sensors, we strategically designate witnesses within a ringshaped
area to validate sensor authenticity and flag any potential clone threats they detect. By
employing a ring topology, both witnesses and the sink can receive data with minimal energy
consumption along the transmission path. Notably, we demonstrate theoretically that our protocol
can achieve a clone detection probability of 100% with reliable witnesses. Additionally, through
an extended analysis, we evaluate the clone detection performance when dealing with
untrustworthy witnesses. Remarkably, even with 10% of witnesses compromised, our protocol
maintains a clone detection probability close to 99%. Unlike existing clone detection protocols
employing random witness selection schemes, our approach minimizes buffer storage
requirements, which depend solely on the network's radius, denoted as h, rather than the total
number of sensors, denoted as n. Extensive simulations substantiate that our protocol effectively
distributes traffic load across the network, ensuring prolonged network longevity.