A Comprehensive Analysis of Security-Based Schemes in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) are comprised of sensor nodes that are deployed under the water having limited battery power and other limited resources. Applications of UWSNs include monitoring the quality of the water, mine detection, environment monitoring, military surveillance, disaster prediction, and underwater navigation. UWSNs are more vulnerable to security attacks as compared to their counterparts such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The possible attacks in UWSNs can abrupt the operation of entire network. This research work presents the analysis of relevant research done on security-based schemes in UWSNs. The security-based schemes are categorized into five sub-categories. Each technique in each category is analyzed in detail. The major contribution in each security-based scheme along with technique used, possible future research issues and implementation tool are discussed in detail. The open research issues and future trends identified and presented in this research can be further explored by the research community.