USING GAME THEORY IN WIRELESS NETWORKS FOR NETWORK SECURITY

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely applied in environmental monitoring, health care, smart cities, industrial control, and many other domains due to their flexibility and low cost. Typically, WSNs are organized as mesh networks in which each node collects data, transmits it to its nearest neighbors, and simultaneously operates as a relay for other nodes. This cooperative data transmission is the central mechanism that maintains the stability and functionality of the entire system. Nevertheless, the increasing deployment of WSNs has made them an attractive target for adversaries. Both passive attacks, such as eavesdropping or traffic analysis, and active attacks, including denial of service, spoofing, or selective forwarding, pose serious threats to secure and efficient communication. These attacks not only affect data confidentiality and integrity but can also disrupt network availability, causing failures in critical services. Therefore, ensuring strong security mechanisms has become a fundamental requirement for WSNs. One of the most promising approaches to address these challenges is the development of intrusion detection systems (IDS). An effective IDS must be designed with consideration of the specific communication patterns, resource limitations of sensor nodes, and the wide range of potential attack scenarios. Such adaptive solutions can provide timely detection, responsive countermeasures, and significantly improve the resilience of wireless sensor networks.