Sluice: Secure Dissemination of Code Updates in Sensor Networks

Abstract

Existing network reprogramming protocols target the efficient, reliable, multi-hop dissemination of application updates in sensor networks, but assume correct or fail-stop behavior from participating sensors. Compromised nodes can subvert such protocols to result in the propagation and remote installation of malicious code. Sluice aims for the progressive, resource-sensitive verification of updates in sensor networks to ensure that malicious updates are not disseminated or installed, while trusted updates continue to be efficiently disseminated. Our verification mechanism provides authenticity and integrity through a hash-chain construction that amortizes the cost of a single digital signature over an entire update. We integrate Sluice with an existing network reprogramming protocol and empirically evaluate its effectiveness both in a real sensor testbed and through simulation.