T-Protocol: An Energy-Efficient, Low-Latency Link-Layer Security Suite for Wireless Sensor Networks

This study proposes a new dynamic WSN security protocol, namely T-protocol, that combines X25519 key exchange, Ed25519 authentication, and AES-GCM. It is benchmarked against ECC-PFS and a representative RSA baseline under an identical topology and a precomputed traffic schedule, with fairness via protocol-specific RNG forks (equal-rotation, iso-energy). Metrics include (i) remaining energy, (ii) effective latency (active-link plus control amortization), and (iii) a reproducible security score combining freshness (rotation/activity), PFS/AUTH/REPLAY flags, and residual risk (energy-stress, inactivity). The threat model covers replay, key staleness, and low-rate energy drain. Simulation results show that effective latency is reduced by the T-protocol while energy is preserved and security is slightly improved. Proposed protocol is methodological and application-agnostic: the framework fixes topology/traffic across stacks, partitions randomness, ensures deterministic per-key nonces, reports effective latency, and supports iso-energy calibration, so it can host power-market profiles without altering the evaluation core. Additionally, a hybrid kyber-enabled protocol is outlined as a future direction for PQC-readiness.