Heterogeneous clustered sensor networks (HCSNs) help meet the cost, lifetime, and scalability requirements of real applications. However, the security solution should be reconsidered for their unique properties, such as uneven resources and in-network processing. In this paper, we provide a resource oriented security solution (ROSS) to protect the network connectivity of HCSNs. ROSS is a robust security solution that is embedded into network layer operations, resulting in in-depth defense against attacks from both external attackers and compromised nodes. Through security analysis and performance simulation, we demonstrate that ROSS not only achieves the predefined security goals, but also allows a tradeoff between security and performance cost.