Article
Protocol for Two-factor Authentication in Wireless Sensor Networks
As critical applications in such areas as health care and security are increasingly using wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the need to control access to the networks securely is becoming increasingly important. Since there exists a risk of the device being penetrated, or the password stolen, more often than not, such traditional single-factor authentication methods are no longer adequate. The two-factor authentication (2FA) approach that this piece of work proposes is a technique that integrates knowledge by a user (a password or PIN) and something possessed by the user (smart device or token). It is identified that the proposed protocol has lightweight functionality which is suitable in resource-constrained scenarios and also ensures establishment of a secure communication between users and sensor nodes. These consist of session key agreement, mutual authentication, and security against common attacks, such as, impersonation, replay and man-in-the-middle. The simulation results demonstrate that the protocol can be applied to enhance authentication in modern WSN applications as it secures provision of and efficiency in the process increased.
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