Prospects of using lightweight cryptography in loT devices

Abstract

The expansion of the loT ecosystem necessitates a fundamental shift in securing cyber-physical systems. While security is paramount where sensors and actuators operate, resource constraints-limited memory, low throughput, and energy reserves-often make standard protocols like AES-128 technically prohibitive. This paper analyzes the transition toward Lightweight Cryptography (LWC), exploring architectural trade-offs between security margins and hardware efficiency. By evaluating optimized algorithms such as ASCON and PRESENT, the study examines their performance in constrained environments. Acknowledging current limitations, this research identifies future development paths to enhance both the performance and defensive capabilities of loT systems.