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Article

Adaptive Localization-Free Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks

1
Department of Computer Engineering and Networks, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24382, Saudi Arabia
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Taif University, Taif 21974, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Computer Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2026, 26(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26010017
Submission received: 19 October 2025 / Revised: 12 December 2025 / Accepted: 17 December 2025 / Published: 19 December 2025

Abstract

Depth-based probabilistic routing (DPR) is an efficient underwater acoustic network (UAN) routing protocol which resists the depth-spoofing attack. DPR’s optimal value of the unqualified forwarding probability depends on the UAN topology, condition, and threat state, which are highly dynamic. If the static forwarding probability used in DPR is set too low for the current state, packet delivery ratio (PDR) drops. If it is set too high, unnecessary forwarding occurs when the network is not under attack, thus wasting valuable energy. In this paper, we propose a novel routing protocol, which uses a feedback mechanism that allows the sink to continuously adapt the unqualified forwarding probability according to the current network state. The protocol aims to achieve an application-controlled desired delivery ratio using one of three proposed update algorithms developed in this work. We analyze the performance of the proposed algorithms through simulation. Results demonstrate that the proposed adaptive routing protocol achieves resilience to depth-spoofing attacks by successfully delivering more than 80% of generated packets in more than 95% of simulated networks, while avoiding unnecessary unqualified forwarding in normal conditions.
Keywords: underwater acoustic networks; depth-based routing; secure routing underwater acoustic networks; depth-based routing; secure routing

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Alharbi, A.; Ibrahim, S. Adaptive Localization-Free Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks. Sensors 2026, 26, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26010017

AMA Style

Alharbi A, Ibrahim S. Adaptive Localization-Free Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks. Sensors. 2026; 26(1):17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26010017

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alharbi, Ayman, and Saleh Ibrahim. 2026. "Adaptive Localization-Free Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks" Sensors 26, no. 1: 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26010017

APA Style

Alharbi, A., & Ibrahim, S. (2026). Adaptive Localization-Free Secure Routing Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks. Sensors, 26(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s26010017

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