EDSSR: a secure and power-aware opportunistic routing scheme for WSNs

Motivated by the pivotal role of routing in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and the prevalent security vulnerabilities arising from existing protocols, this research tackles the inherent challenges of securing WSNs. Many current WSN routing protocols prioritize computational efficiency but lack robust security measures, making them susceptible to exploitation by malicious actors. The prevalence of reactive protocols, chosen for their lower bandwidth consumption, exacerbates security concerns, as proactive alternatives require more resources for maintaining network routes. Additionally, the ad hoc nature and energy constraints of WSNs render conventional security models designed for wired and wireless networks unsuitable. In response to these limitations, this paper introduces the Secured Energy-Efficient Opportunistic Routing Scheme for Sustainable WSNs (EDSSR). EDSSR is designed to enhance security in WSNs by continuously updating neighbor information and validating the legitimacy of standard routing parameters. Critically, the protocol is power-aware, recognizing the vital importance of energy considerations in the constrained environment of WSNs. To assess the efficacy of EDSSR in mitigating WSN vulnerabilities, simulation experiments were conducted, evaluating the protocol's performance on key metrics such as throughput, average End-to-End delay ([Formula: see text] delay), energy consumption (EC), network lifetime (alive nodes), and malware detection rate. The results demonstrate that the EDSSR protocol significantly improves performance. It shows substantial gains in sum goodput relative to throughput, average [Formula: see text] delay, EC, and alive nodes. Specifically, the EDSSR protocol is 2-3% faster than DLAMD and 10-13% faster than EEFCR. Additionally, the malware detection rate increases by 23%.