Security levels

Two types or levels of security can be applied in a ZigBee network:

Network-level security: This uses a ‘network key’ which is common throughout the network and is used to encrypt/decrypt all communications between all nodes. The network key is randomly generated by the Trust Centre before any nodes join the network. Setting up network-level security is described in Section 5.8.3.1.
Application-level security: This uses an application ‘link key’ which is used (in addition to the network key) to encrypt/decrypt communications between a pair of nodes. This link key may be unique for a pair of nodes. Setting up application-level security is described in Section 5.8.3.2.

The encryption keys for these security levels are described in Section 5.8.2.