Opportunistic sensing: Security challenges for the new paradigm

TLDR

Opportunistic people‑centric sensing uses humans as part of the sensing infrastructure, collecting large volumes of everyday activity data in a highly dynamic mobile setting, which introduces new information‑security challenges not present in static sensor networks. The paper aims to instigate discussion of security and privacy challenges in opportunistic people‑centric sensing and outline promising general solutions. We outline several important challenges and suggest general solutions that hold promise in this new sensing paradigm.

Abstract

We study the security challenges that arise in opportunistic people-centric sensing, a new sensing paradigm leveraging humans as part of the sensing infrastructure. Most prior sensor-network research has focused on collecting and processing environmental data using a static topology and an application-aware infrastructure, whereas opportunistic sensing involves collecting, storing, processing and fusing large volumes of data related to everyday human activities. This highly dynamic and mobile setting, where humans are the central focus, presents new challenges for information security, because data originates from sensors carried by people - not tiny sensors thrown in the forest or attached to animals. In this paper we aim to instigate discussion of this critical issue, because opportunistic people-centric sensing will never succeed without adequate provisions for security and privacy. To that end, we outline several important challenges and suggest general solutions that hold promise in this new sensing paradigm.