Secured data aggregation in wireless sensor networks

Purpose This study aims to provide a secured data aggregation with reduced energy consumption in WSN. Data aggregation is the process of reducing communication overhead in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Presently, securing data aggregation is an important research issue in WSNs due to two facts: sensor nodes deployed in the sensitive and open environment are easily targeted by adversaries, and the leakage of aggregated data causes damage in the networks, and these data cannot be retrieved in a short span of time. Most of the traditional cryptographic algorithms provide security for data aggregation, but they do not reduce energy consumption. Design/methodology/approach Nowadays, the homomorphic cryptosystem is used widely to provide security with low energy consumption, as the aggregation is performed on the ciphertext without decryption at the cluster head. In the present paper, the Paillier additive homomorphic cryptosystem and Boneh et al.’s aggregate signature method are used to encrypt and to verify aggregate data at the base station. Findings The combination of the two algorithms reduces computation time and energy consumption when compared with the state-of-the-art techniques. Practical implications The secured data aggregation is useful in health-related applications, military applications, etc. Originality/value The new combination of encryption and signature methods provides confidentiality and integrity. In addition, it consumes less computation time and energy consumption than existing methods.