Design Guidelines on Trust Management for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent years, significant advancements in wireless underwater communication and acoustic sensor technology have spurred the exploration and utilization of the ocean’s vast natural resources. underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) are increasingly deployed in unattended and hostile environments, demanding robust security measures. Secure communication environments are essential for a range of UWSN applications, including coastal defense, underwater communication, and marine exploration. Trust models have emerged as effective security mechanisms to assess the reliability of individual nodes in UWSNs during adverse attacks. Unlike Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), UWSNs encounter distinct challenges, including constrained resources, harsh underwater conditions, and unreliable acoustic communication, making it crucial to establish a reliable trust-based system. In this paper, we review existing work on UWSN security, discuss security and trust challenges, and explore trust-based applications. Furthermore, we evaluate diverse trust models suited for UWSNs of recent years, categorizing and comparing approaches like weighted sum methods, logic-based techniques, probability and statistics models, and machine learning paradigms. Finally, we discuss contemporary challenges and future directions in UWSN trust management. By offering a systematic overview and classification of trust management approaches, this paper contributes to the understanding and development of effective trust mechanisms for UWSNs, ultimately enhancing their reliability, security, and successful operation in diverse marine applications.

I. Introduction

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on the development and exploitation of marine resources as a crucial means to expand human habitation areas and bolster resource reserves [1], [2]. Governments worldwide have placed significant attention on harnessing marine resources and have been actively enhancing their national marine development strategies. Among the emerging technologies, underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have garnered considerable interest from academia and industry due to their potential to facilitate reliable and long-term monitoring of underwater environments, real-time surveillance of underwater activities, and the provision of marine disaster warning services [3], [4].