Attacks, Vulnerabilities, and Their Countermeasures in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor network (WSN) comprises sensor nodes that have the capability to sense and compute. Due to their availability and minimal cost compared to traditional networks, WSN is used broadly. The need for sensor networks increases quickly as they are more likely to experience security attacks. There are many attacks and vulnerabilities in WSN. The sensor nodes have issues like limited resources of memory and power and undependable communication medium, which is further complicated in unattended environments, secure communication, and data transmission issues. Due to the complexity in establishing and maintaining the wireless sensor networks, the traditional security solutions if implemented will prove to be inefficient for the dynamic nature of the wireless sensor networks. Since recent times, the advance of smart cities and everything smart, wireless sensor nodes have become an integral part of the internet of things and their related paradigms. This chapter discusses the known attacks, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures existing in wireless sensor networks.