Mathematical Analysis of Secrecy Amplification in Key Infection: The Whispering Mode

Abstract

A wireless sensor network consists of spatially distributed devices using sensors to monitor physical and environmental conditions. Key infection is a key distribution protocol for wireless sensor networks with a partially present adversary; a sensor node wishing to communicate secretly with other nodes simply sends a symmetric encryption key in the clear. The partially present adversary can eavesdrop on only a small fraction of the keys. Secrecy amplification is a post-deployment strategy to improve the security of key infection by combining multiple keys propagated along different paths. The previous mathematical analysis of secrecy amplification assumes that sensor nodes always transmit packets at the maximum strength. We provide a mathematical analysis of secrecy amplification where nodes adjust their transmission power adaptively (a.k.a. whispering mode).