A method for node selection in a multihop wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of nodes, the method comprising: determining, at a source node, a leftover energy associated with each neighboring node of the source node, wherein the leftover energy is determined by calculating the difference between a total amount of energy consumed by a neighboring node, Emax, and amount of energy consumed by the neighboring node to receive all incoming packets plus amount of energy consumed by the neighboring node to send all outgoing packets; determining, at the source node, a secure value associated with each neighboring node of the source node; generating, at the source node, a potential candidate set comprising at least one node of the neighboring nodes associated with the source node, wherein leftover energy of each of the at least one node is greater than an energy threshold; generating, at the source node, an actual candidate set, wherein the actual candidate set comprises nodes from the potential candidate set whose secure value is greater than a secure value threshold; sorting, at the source node, the actual candidate set based on a priority value, wherein the priority value is determined based on the secure value; and selecting, at the source node, a node with the highest priority value in the actual candidate set for transmission of a data packet from the source node, wherein the secure value is calculated based on a forward delivery ratio, and a reverse delivery ratio, wherein the forward delivery ratio corresponds to a probability that a data packet successfully arrives at a receiving node from a sending node, and the reverse delivery ratio corresponds to a probability that an Acknowledgment, ACK, packet is successfully received at the sending node. determining, at a source node, a leftover energy associated with each neighboring node of the source node, wherein the leftover energy is determined by calculating the difference between a total amount of energy consumed by a neighboring node, Emax, and amount of energy consumed by the neighboring node to receive all incoming packets plus amount of energy consumed by the neighboring node to send all outgoing packets; determining, at the source node, a secure value associated with each neighboring node of the source node; generating, at the source node, a potential candidate set comprising at least one node of the neighboring nodes associated with the source node, wherein leftover energy of each of the at least one node is greater than an energy threshold; generating, at the source node, an actual candidate set, wherein the actual candidate set comprises nodes from the potential candidate set whose secure value is greater than a secure value threshold; sorting, at the source node, the actual candidate set based on a priority value, wherein the priority value is determined based on the secure value; and selecting, at the source node, a node with the highest priority value in the actual candidate set for transmission of a data packet from the source node, wherein the secure value is calculated based on a forward delivery ratio, and a reverse delivery ratio, wherein the forward delivery ratio corresponds to a probability that a data packet successfully arrives at a receiving node from a sending node, and the reverse delivery ratio corresponds to a probability that an Acknowledgment, ACK, packet is successfully received at the sending node.