Systems and methods for security in a wireless utility network

Methods and systems a provided for security in a wireless utility network. The methods and systems use different levels of trust to securely enroll new nodes into a network through other nodes acting as proxies. A node's security state with respect to another node in the network is categorized into one of several trust levels. A node responds to certain requests, actions or messages depending based on its trust level with the other entity. Initially, a node is not trusted. A first trust level is established based on a digital certificate that is stored in a node when the node is manufactured. A second trust level is established based on a second digital certificate obtained from a certifying authority while a node is in the first trust level. A node with a verified second certificate can be fully enrolled in the network and participate as a network node with minimal or no constraints.