A Trust Cloud Model for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Nowadays, the study of underwater WSNs (UWSNs) has become a hot topic. However, UWSNs have not been fully utilized in the complex underwater environment, since there are some difficulties in controlling mobile sensor nodes and underwater environment conditions. In addition, how to ensure the security of UWSNs and the safety of underwater mobile sensor nodes has not been solved well. In this article, we study the problem of trust establishment between nodes in UWSNs. We first give a detailed overview of existing trust management mechanisms. Since UWSNs possess specific characteristics, it is noted that those existing mechanisms are not applicable for UWSNs. We then introduce a trust cloud model that is suitable for trust management in UWSNs.