Efficient Key Pre-distribution for 6LoWPAN

The Internet of Things is imposing an evolution of the capabilities of wireless sensor networks. The new IP-based 6LoWPAN standard for low power sensor networks allows an almost seamless connection of local sensor networks to the Internet. On the other hand, the connection to the Internet also opens doors for unauthorized nodes to become part of the local network. The most important challenge in preventing this, is the implementation of a key management architecture, keeping in mind that the sensor nodes are constrained in power consumption and data storage capacity. This paper builds on a previously proposed symmetric key management scheme for 6LoWPAN networks presented by Smeets et al.in [1]. The original scheme is based on wired bootstrapping for the enrollment of new nodes, while the paper at hand proposes a wireless method. We analyze the original wired scheme and propose an improved wireless scheme, elaborating on the practical implementation on Zolertia Z1 nodes running Contiki-OS. We show that it is possible to provide end-to-end security using wireless bootstrapping within the constraints of the tiny nodes at hand.