Hardware-Based Random Number Generation in Wireless Sensor Networks(WSNs)

摘要

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is an emerging area and almost all of its major security issues are currently in research. The Security of mobile sensor networks relies on cryptographic protocols. The strength of cryptographic protocols depends on the strength of secret key used. Therefore it is critical that the generated key be highly random and difficult to guess. Cryptographic requirement for random numbers and the inadequacies of software methods have created a need for inexpensive and secure methods of generating random numbers. We present a hardware based technique for random number generation based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), which is a function of transmission power. Analysis shows that this method provides cryptographically secure random numbers without the use of any additional hardware.