DBSR: A Depth-Based Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks

Depth-Based protocol has gained considerable attention as an efficient routing scheme for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks UWSNs. It requires only depth information to perform the routing process. Despite this feature, UWSNs which operate with the employment of DBR protocol are vulnerable to depth spoofing attack. In this paper, Depth Based Secure Routing protocol is proposed to overcome this vulnerability. DBSR modifies traditional DBR routing algorithm by securing the depth information which is embedded in the header part of DBR packet. In addition to that, each node verifies the sender’s identity based on a digital signature scheme. We extensively evaluate the overhead and performance gain of DBSR for two signature schemes based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography method considering various network conditions. The simulation study is performed using NS3-based simulator. Our results show that DBSR can avoid depth-spoofing attack by achieving 95% and 85% delivery ratios under low and high network loads respectively. Contrary to popular belief, results show that careful utilization of cryptographic techniques is justifiable without significant overhead on the communication cost.