A Lightweight System-On-Chip Based Cryptographic Core for Low-Cost Devices

The backbone of the Internet of things (IoT) platform consists of tiny low-cost devices that are continuously exchanging data. These devices are usually limited in terms of hardware footprint, memory capacity, and processing power. The devices are usually insecure because implementing standard cryptographic algorithms requires the use of a large hardware footprint which leads to an increase in the prices of devices. This study implements a System-on-Chip (SoC) based lightweight cryptographic core that consists of two encryption protocols, four authentication protocols, and a key generation/exchange protocol for ultra-low-cost devices. The hardware architectures use the concept of resource sharing to minimize the hardware area. The lightweight cryptographic SoC is tested by designing a desktop software application to serve as an interface to the hardware. The design is implemented using Verilog HDL and the 130 nm CMOS cell library is used for synthesis, which results in 33 k gate equivalents at a maximum clock frequency of 50 MHz.