Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols

Yee Wei Law; Lodewijk van Hoesel; Jeroen Doumen; Pieter Hartel; Paul Havinga

doi:10.1145/1102219.1102234

Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols

Yee Wei Law, Lodewijk van Hoesel, Jeroen Doumen, Pieter Hartel, Paul Havinga

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

83 Citations (Scopus)

363 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A typical wireless sensor node has little protection against radio jamming. The situation becomes worse if energy efficient jamming can be achieved by exploiting knowledge of the data link layer. Encrypting the packets may help prevent the jammer from taking actions based on the content of the packets, but the temporal arrangement of the packets induced by the nature of the protocol might unravel patterns that the jammer can take advantage of even when the packets are encrypted. By looking at the packet interarrival times in three representative MAC protocols, S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC, we derive several jamming attacks that allow the jammer to jam S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC energy-efficiently. The jamming attacks are based on realistic assumptions. The algorithms, using expectation maximization in case of S-MAC, or K-means in case of LMAC, or low-power listening in case of B-MAC, are described in detail and simulated. The effectiveness and efficiency of the attacks are examined. The result of this investigation provides new insights into the security considerations of MAC protocols.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	SASN '05
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (SASN)
Editors	V. Atluri, P. Samarati, P. Ning, W. Du
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	ACM Press
Pages	76-88
Number of pages	13
ISBN (Print)	978-1-59593-227-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/1102219.1102234
Publication status	Published - Nov 2005
Event	3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks, SASN 2005 - Alexandria, United States Duration: 7 Nov 2005 → 7 Nov 2005 Conference number: 3

Workshop

Workshop	3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks, SASN 2005
Abbreviated title	SASN
Country/Territory	United States
City	Alexandria
Period	7/11/05 → 7/11/05

Keywords

CAES-PS: Pervasive Systems
SCS-Cybersecurity
2023 OA procedure

Access to Document

10.1145/1102219.1102234

ArticleFinal published version, 475 KBLicence: Taverne

83 Citations
1 Report
1 Article

Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols
Law, Y. W., Palaniswami, M., van Hoesel, L., Doumen, J., Hartel, P. & Havinga, P., Feb 2009, In: ACM transactions on sensor networks. 5, 1, 38 p., 6.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

131 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)
Energy-efficient link-layer jamming attacks against wireless sensor network MAC protocols
van Hoesel, L., Law, Y. W., Doumen, J., Hartel, P. & Havinga, P., Apr 2006, Enschede: Centre for Telematics and Information Technology (CTIT). 34 p. (CTIT technical reports series; no. 06-18)
Research output: Book/Report › Report › Professional

Open Access
File

Cite this

Law, Y. W., van Hoesel, L., Doumen, J., Hartel, P., & Havinga, P. (2005). Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols. In V. Atluri, P. Samarati, P. Ning, & W. Du (Eds.), SASN '05: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (SASN) (pp. 76-88). ACM Press. https://doi.org/10.1145/1102219.1102234

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title = "Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols",

abstract = "A typical wireless sensor node has little protection against radio jamming. The situation becomes worse if energy efficient jamming can be achieved by exploiting knowledge of the data link layer. Encrypting the packets may help prevent the jammer from taking actions based on the content of the packets, but the temporal arrangement of the packets induced by the nature of the protocol might unravel patterns that the jammer can take advantage of even when the packets are encrypted. By looking at the packet interarrival times in three representative MAC protocols, S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC, we derive several jamming attacks that allow the jammer to jam S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC energy-efficiently. The jamming attacks are based on realistic assumptions. The algorithms, using expectation maximization in case of S-MAC, or K-means in case of LMAC, or low-power listening in case of B-MAC, are described in detail and simulated. The effectiveness and efficiency of the attacks are examined. The result of this investigation provides new insights into the security considerations of MAC protocols.",

keywords = "CAES-PS: Pervasive Systems, SCS-Cybersecurity, 2023 OA procedure",

author = "Law, {Yee Wei} and {van Hoesel}, Lodewijk and Jeroen Doumen and Pieter Hartel and Paul Havinga",

year = "2005",

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doi = "10.1145/1102219.1102234",

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editor = "V. Atluri and P. Samarati and P. Ning and W. Du",

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Law, YW, van Hoesel, L, Doumen, J, Hartel, P & Havinga, P 2005, Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols. in V Atluri, P Samarati, P Ning & W Du (eds), SASN '05: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (SASN). ACM Press, New York, pp. 76-88, 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks, SASN 2005, Alexandria, Virginia, United States, 7/11/05. https://doi.org/10.1145/1102219.1102234

Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols. / Law, Yee Wei; van Hoesel, Lodewijk; Doumen, Jeroen et al.
SASN '05: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (SASN). ed. / V. Atluri; P. Samarati; P. Ning; W. Du. New York: ACM Press, 2005. p. 76-88.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols

AU - Law, Yee Wei

AU - van Hoesel, Lodewijk

AU - Doumen, Jeroen

AU - Hartel, Pieter

AU - Havinga, Paul

N1 - Conference code: 3

PY - 2005/11

Y1 - 2005/11

N2 - A typical wireless sensor node has little protection against radio jamming. The situation becomes worse if energy efficient jamming can be achieved by exploiting knowledge of the data link layer. Encrypting the packets may help prevent the jammer from taking actions based on the content of the packets, but the temporal arrangement of the packets induced by the nature of the protocol might unravel patterns that the jammer can take advantage of even when the packets are encrypted. By looking at the packet interarrival times in three representative MAC protocols, S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC, we derive several jamming attacks that allow the jammer to jam S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC energy-efficiently. The jamming attacks are based on realistic assumptions. The algorithms, using expectation maximization in case of S-MAC, or K-means in case of LMAC, or low-power listening in case of B-MAC, are described in detail and simulated. The effectiveness and efficiency of the attacks are examined. The result of this investigation provides new insights into the security considerations of MAC protocols.

AB - A typical wireless sensor node has little protection against radio jamming. The situation becomes worse if energy efficient jamming can be achieved by exploiting knowledge of the data link layer. Encrypting the packets may help prevent the jammer from taking actions based on the content of the packets, but the temporal arrangement of the packets induced by the nature of the protocol might unravel patterns that the jammer can take advantage of even when the packets are encrypted. By looking at the packet interarrival times in three representative MAC protocols, S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC, we derive several jamming attacks that allow the jammer to jam S-MAC, LMAC and B-MAC energy-efficiently. The jamming attacks are based on realistic assumptions. The algorithms, using expectation maximization in case of S-MAC, or K-means in case of LMAC, or low-power listening in case of B-MAC, are described in detail and simulated. The effectiveness and efficiency of the attacks are examined. The result of this investigation provides new insights into the security considerations of MAC protocols.

KW - CAES-PS: Pervasive Systems

KW - SCS-Cybersecurity

KW - 2023 OA procedure

U2 - 10.1145/1102219.1102234

DO - 10.1145/1102219.1102234

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 978-1-59593-227-3

SP - 76

EP - 88

BT - SASN '05

A2 - Atluri, V.

A2 - Samarati, P.

A2 - Ning, P.

A2 - Du, W.

PB - ACM Press

CY - New York

T2 - 3rd ACM Workshop on Security of Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks, SASN 2005

Y2 - 7 November 2005 through 7 November 2005

ER -

Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols

Abstract

Workshop

Keywords

Access to Document

Research output

Energy-Efficient Link-Layer Jamming Attacks against Wireless Sensor Network MAC Protocols

Energy-efficient link-layer jamming attacks against wireless sensor network MAC protocols

Cite this