  In this paper, we consider a particular type of deployment scenario of a
distributed sensor network (DSN), where sensors of different types and
categories are densely deployed in the same target area. In this network, the
sensors are associated with different groups, based on their functional types
and after deployment they collaborate with one another in the same group for
doing any assigned task for that particular group. We term this sort of DSN as
a heterogeneous distributed sensor network (HDSN). Considering this scenario,
we propose a secure membership verification mechanism using one-way accumulator
(OWA) which ensures that, before collaborating for a particular task, any pair
of nodes in the same deployment group can verify each other-s legitimacy of
membership. Our scheme also supports addition and deletion of members (nodes)
in a particular group in the HDSN. Our analysis shows that, the proposed scheme
could work well in conjunction with other security mechanisms for sensor
networks and is very effective to resist any adversary-s attempt to be included
in a legitimate group in the network.
