Sensor Transmission Management via Randomized Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing large-scale telemetry systems are vulnerable to interception and scrambling attacks, with current encryption techniques being ineffective and too complex or costly to implement.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines a random transmission date for measurement data using a distribution law, such as uniform or exponential, to dissociate measurement transmission from measurement dates, making it difficult for attackers to predict when data will be sent, thereby increasing the complexity of interception or scrambling without modifying the communication protocol.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If encryption techniques are used to protect measurement data, then confidentiality is improved, but the system becomes vulnerable to interception and scrambling attacks and requires protocol modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transmission process into measurement phase and transmission phase, decoupling them temporally. Measurements are taken periodically while transmissions occur at random intervals determined by a probabilistic model, breaking the direct linkage between measurement and transmission timing
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission schedule is made dynamic and adaptive rather than fixed. The system uses a probabilistic transmission model where the likelihood of transmission varies over time based on a distribution law, allowing the system to adapt to security threats without modifying the underlying communication protocol
2Ease of operation
If transmission dates are fixed and periodic, then system simplicity is maintained, but attackers can easily predict and intercept transmissions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static, periodic transmission schedule into a dynamic, probabilistic one. Instead of fixed intervals, transmissions occur according to a random distribution model, making prediction computationally difficult while maintaining systematic control through the defined probability distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temporal parameter of transmission from fixed periodic intervals to random intervals governed by a distribution law. This parameter transformation maintains system manageability through mathematical modeling while effectively preventing prediction by attackers
3Reliability
If scrambling protection techniques are implemented, then security against scrambling attacks is improved, but the techniques are too complex and costly for large-scale sensor networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer of probabilistic timing control between the measurement process and the transmission process. This intermediary mechanism provides security through temporal uncertainty rather than through complex cryptographic scrambling, achieving protection with simpler implementation
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses simple, inexpensive probabilistic timing logic instead of complex, expensive scrambling mechanisms. The security relies on the computational difficulty of predicting random variable realizations rather than on sophisticated encryption algorithms, making it suitable for resource-constrained sensor nodes
Data Source
AI summary
A method and device are provided for managing transmissions of a plurality of sets of measurements performed periodically by a measurement sensor capable of communicating with a collection device via a radio network. The method determines, according to a random distribution law, a date of transmission for each set of measurements of the plurality and transmits a message relating to at least one set of measurements, on one of the dates of transmission determined for the plurality.