Lightweight Cryptography for the Internet of Things

The rate of implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices is increasing drastically. With that, the security issues of these connected devices and their associated network is concerning. In some applications, a security breach in an IoT device can lead to serious ramifications. For instance, hacking into a control system of a manufacturing plant can put the entire production process to a stop; intruding on critical biomedical devices such as a pacemaker or an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator can potentially risk the life of the user. Therefore, the security challenges of such devices against cyber-attacks are of paramount importance and critical when it comes to determining the future success of IoT. In this paper, a systemization of knowledge regarding the lightweight cryptographic algorithms area for IoT based devices has been provided to better understand the limitation of IoT devices and their design constraints. We identified in this study not only the real-world applications of IoT devices with their constraint resources but also the security challenges and security threats related to IoT devices. Also, we provided an exhaustive survey of lightweight cryptographic algorithms proposed by various researchers. According to this survey, we recommended two lightweight algorithms to address the security needs of IoT devices.