Key Distribution Strategy of Wireless Sensor Network Based on Multi-Hash Chain

Key management is the basis of the security mechanism for wireless sensor networks and services, and random key pre-distribution is the most effective key management mechanism at present. However, there is a potential challenge to most current random key pre-distribution strategies: it is difficult to achieve both ideal network security connectivity and network survivability. In this paper, we present a novel random key pre-distribution scheme based on the hash chain. By adjusting certain system parameters, such as the hash chain length, the number of common auxiliary nodes and the number of hash chains, a sensor node only need to preload a few of keys, making it possible to establish the pairwise key with high probability among its neighboring nodes. The proposed scheme can still maintain strong network survivability even if there are many compromised nodes. The theoretical analysis and simulation experiments show that the proposed scheme is not only effective and secure, but also scalable.