Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Around 29 billion internet-connected devices are forecast to be deployed by 2022, of which about 15.5 billion will be short-range connected devices [1]. These devices hold the promise of improving efficiency and quality of data delivery in many contexts, but only if security and reliability standards can be met. This proposal aims to create a research program that addresses research, economic, and industrial needs by developing critical components of the internet of things (IoT) framework in the areas of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) quality of service (QoS), power efficiency, cybersecurity, and cloud integration. I will focus on the development and validation of novel protocols and mechanisms for WSNs to support the growth of IoT applications through the development of: -a cross-layer multi-objective optimization mechanism for QoS in WSNs, - a privacy-preserving QoS protocol for WSNs, -centralized and distributed protocols for detecting and isolating passive attacks in WSNs, and -a multi-layer secure WSN-cloud hierarchical data delivery architecture. The protocols and mechanisms I propose are innovative and meet needs not yet addressed in the literature and are identified as urgent by the research community and industry. My plan to implement both QoS and data privacy by developing a cross-layer multi-objective optimization (MOO) for multi-hop WSNs is new; as well, no publications to date deal with the detection and isolation of passive attacks in WSNs. My research will also include the development and implementation of a secure and QoS-based WSN-cloud integration architecture. I will develop a MOO model to provide QoS by minimizing the delay and power consumption in multi-hop WSNs by formulating and then solving a probabilistic model to minimize eavesdropping risks. These eavesdropping minimization and QoS models will be integrated to create a privacy-preserving QoS protocol. Cross-layer integration will be leveraged to develop protocols for detecting and isolating passive attacks by the traces they leave in packet transmission timing. Finally, to integrate the WSNs into the cloud, a two-level hierarchical architecture will be developed to maintain security and QoS by implementing real-time algorithms in the sensor devices and cloud gateways. The protocols proposed in this Discovery research program will positively impact economic growth by addressing vital issues related to QoS and security of WSNs and their integration in cloud architectures. The proposed solutions will lead to advancements in WSN technologies and their implementation in many applications sensitive to reliability, delay and security, such as the smart grid, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), environmental monitoring, security, and healthcare.