Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
Security and Privacy in
Body Sensor Networks:
Challenges, Solutions, and
Research Directions
Wassim Itani
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Ayman Kayssi
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Ali Chehab
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present a comprehensive survey of the state of the art research in the field of body
sensor networks security and privacy. We identify the main security challenges introduced by body sensor
networks by thoroughly analyzing the specifics of this category of wireless sensor networks and present
the prominent security and privacy architectures available to protect body sensor infrastructures. The
presented protocols are categorized based on the security services they provide. Moreover, the chapter
studies two main challenges that we believe are the most critical in the body sensor network security
and privacy context: (1) achieving the correct balance between the complexity of the protocol security
operations employed and the energy consumption they incur, and (2) attaining the right tradeoff be-
tween privacy and safety by utilizing the patient's vital signals and other context-related information to
minimize the amount of private data released. To provide a practical insight into the presented concepts,
this chapter presents an overview of the main cryptographic APIs available in popular sensor networks
operating systems such as TinyOS and recommends a collection of best practices and usage patterns for
developing secure sensor health care applications and services. We conclude by presenting a blueprint
body sensor network security framework employing a secure combination of the technical building
blocks described in the chapter sections. Recommendations on the advantages and drawbacks of each
building block are suggested whenever the latter is added to the security framework.
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