Security-Driven Performance Analysis of Lightweight Cryptography for Energy Efficiency Applications

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the security-centric performance of the Lightweight Cryptography (LWC) algorithms ASCON, TinyJambu, and Xoodyak, finalists in the NIST standardization process, through their implementation on a Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller unit to secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices for energy efficiency applications. Our experiments focused on evaluating their encryption/decryption throughput when safeguarding sensor data sent over the MQTT protocol. The key findings were that ASCON demonstrated the highest cryptographic strength, aligned with its selection as a standardized algorithm by NIST, but lower throughput of 1.6 KBps and 1.35 MBps compared to TinyJambu and Xoodyak. TinyJambu proved to be the most efficient, with throughputs of 1.8 KBps and 2.1 MBps, owing to its compact implementation, which is suitable for Resource-Constrained Devices (RCDs). Xoodyak achieved 1.6 KBps and 1.3 MBps throughput but had a larger code footprint. Importantly, all three algorithms enabled end-to-end MQTT communication security, demonstrating their viability for securing IoT RCDs. This research provides valuable insights into leveraging LWC to secure IoT platforms for promoting energy efficiency, smart infrastructure, and sustainability advancements.