A Robust and Secure Framework for Enhancing IoT Network Security to Combat Wormhole Attacks

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have evolved significantly over the past few decades, emerging as an essential component for monitoring and controlling various applications, such as environmental sensing, healthcare, and industrial automation. Traditionally, WSNs rely on static routing protocols that do not adapt well to changes in network conditions, leading to issues such as congestion, energy inefficiency, and poor overall network performance. These systems use a fixed routing path for data transmission, often resulting in imbalanced load distribution across the network, reducing the lifetime and performance of the sensors. The main drawback of traditional WSN systems is their inability to handle dynamic changes in traffic or network conditions, such as node failures, energy depletion, or environmental disruptions. This leads to inefficient routing, unnecessary data retransmissions, and increased power consumption. Additionally, most conventional WSNs do not support scalability well, making it difficult to maintain optimal performance as the network grows. Furthermore, traditional routing methods often rely on a single path, increasing the risk of data loss if the path becomes unavailable or congested. The problem addressed by this system is the need for a more adaptable and efficient routing mechanism that can handle dynamic changes in the network while ensuring load balancing and fault tolerance. The motivation behind this research is to improve the reliability, energy efficiency, and scalability of WSNs, particularly in the context of large-scale networks where traditional methods fail to perform effectively. The proposed system aims to integrate Software-Defined Networking (SDN) with WSNs to enable dynamic load balancing and multipath routing. SDN allows for centralized control and real-time adaptation of routing paths, offering improved flexibility, better traffic management, and enhanced fault tolerance. By dynamically adjusting routes and balancing the load across the network, this system seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional approaches and ensure optimal performance in various WSN applications.