Dealing with jamming in wireless sensor network

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as an important application area resulting from the advancement of efficient short-range radio communication and miniaturization of computing devices. As these networks (WSNs) are built upon a shared medium that makes it easy for adversaries to conduct radio interference, or jamming, attacks that effectively cause a denial of service of either transmission or reception functionalities. In this paper we survey different jamming attacks that may be employed against a sensor network, as well as different types of defense strategies in order to cope with the problem of jamming attacks. A jamming attack can be launched in data-link layer or physical layer. Link layer jamming attacks disturb the communication between sensor nodes around the jammer. Physical layer jamming attacks let the radios frequency interfere with the open wireless environment. In WSN architecture, Base Stations (BSs) are the prime target for jamming attack because of their importance in aggregating sensor readings, and for playing a role in security protocols. Our objective is to find a defense strategy against BS jamming attack in WSNs.