Broadcast Authentication for Wireless Sensor Networks Using Nested Hashing and the Chinese Remainder Theorem

Secure broadcasting is an essential feature for critical operations in wireless sensor network (WSNs). However, due to the limited resources of sensor networks, verifying the authenticity for broadcasted messages is a very difficult issue. μTESLA is a broadcast authentication protocol, which uses network-wide loose time synchronization with one-way hashed keys to provide the authenticity verification. However, it suffers from several flaws considering the delay tolerance, and the chain length restriction. In this paper, we propose a protocol which provides broadcast authentication for wireless sensor networks. This protocol uses a nested hash chain of two different hash functions and the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT). The two different nested hash functions are employed for the seed updating and the key generation. Each sensor node is challenged independently with a common broadcasting message using the CRT. Our algorithm provides forward and non-restricted key generation, and in addition, no time synchronization is required. Furthermore, receivers can instantly authenticate packets in real time. Moreover, the comprehensive analysis shows that this scheme is efficient and practical, and can achieve better performance than the μTESLA system.