Background:
Lightweight cryptographic algorithms have been the focus of many researchers
in the past few years. This has been inspired by the potential developments of lightweight
constrained devices and their applications. These algorithms are intended to overcome the limitations
of traditional cryptographic algorithms in terms of exaction time, complex computation and energy
requirements.
Methods:
This paper proposes LAES, a lightweight and simplified cryptographic algorithm for constricted
environments. It operates on GF(24), with a block size of 64 bits and a key size of 80-bit. While
this simplified AES algorithm is impressive in terms of processing time and randomness levels. The
fundamental architecture of LAES is expounded using mathematical proofs to compare and contrast it
with a variant lightweight algorithm, PRESENT, in terms of efficiency and randomness level.
Results:
Three metrics were used for evaluating LAES according to the NIST cryptographic applications
statistical test suite. The testing indicated competitive processing time and randomness level of
LAES compared to PRESENT.
Conclusion:
The study demonstrates that LAES achieves comparable results to PRESENT in terms
of randomness levels and generally outperform PRESENT in terms of processing time.
