Energy Optimization in Cryptographic Protocols for the Cloud

Abstract

In this chapter, we study the energy consumption by various modern cryptographic protocols for the cloud from the algorithmic perspective. The two categories of protocols we consider are (1) hash functions and (2) symmetric key encryption protocols. We identify various parameters that moderate energy consumption of these hashes and protocols. Our work is directed towards redesigning or modifying these algorithms to make them consume lesser energy. As a first step, we try to determine the applicability of the asymptotic energy complexity model by Roy on these hashes and protocols. Specifically, we try to observe whether parallelizing the access of blocks of data in these algorithms reduces their energy consumption based on the energy model. Our results confirm the applicability of the energy model on these hashes and protocols. Our work is motivated by the importance of cryptographic hashes and symmetric key protocols for the cloud. Hence the design of more energy efficient hashes and protocols will contribute in reducing the cloud energy consumption that is continuously increasing.