Blockchain-based Distributed Fractional Hawk Optimized Cluster Head Selection for Secure Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are significant for various applications, however ensuring data security and energy consumption remains a critical challenge. The conventional methods lacked sufficient security, exhibited communication overhead, and energy inefficiencies. Therefore, this research proposes the Distributed Fractional Hawk Optimization (DtFHO) algorithm to address the limitations in cluster head selection for secure WSN routing. The integration of fractional theory improves the convergence speed and exploitation balance in cluster head selection. To secure the data routing, a blockchain network is employed, which maintains a transparent record of routing paths while preventing malicious node entries. Furthermore, the modified End-to-End Homomorphic encryption enables secure data sharing without decrypting sensitive information at intermediate nodes. Through considering the multimetric factors, the DtFHO algorithm offers a secure routing path, making it highly effective for large-scale and sensitive network scenarios. The DtFHO showcases a robust performance by achieving a minimum transaction time of 2.013 seconds, memory usage of 347.95 Kilobytes, Gas usage of 345.84 Kilobytes, encryption time of 2.012 seconds, and a maximum throughput ratio of 0.748, normalized energy of 0.766 Joules, with 153 alive nodes compared to the conventional methods.