A Lightweight Authentication and Encryption Protocol for Secure Communications Between Resource-Limited Devices Without Hardware Modification

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors examine the theoretical context for the security of wireless communication between ubiquitous computing devices and present an implementation that addresses this need. The number of resource-limited wireless devices utilized in many areas of the IT industry is growing rapidly. Some of the applications of these devices pose real security threats that can be addressed using authentication and cryptography. Many of the available authentication and encryption software solutions are predicated on the availability of ample processing power and memory. These demands cannot be met by most ubiquitous computing devices; thus, there is a need to apply lightweight cryptography primitives and lightweight authentication protocols that meet these demands in any application of security to devices with limited resources. The analysis of the lightweight solutions is divided into lightweight authentication protocols and lightweight encryption algorithms. The authors present a prototype running on the nRF9E5 microcontroller that provides necessary authentication and encryption on resource-limited devices.