Programmable SoC for an XTEA Encryption Algorithm Using a Co-Design Environment Replication Performance Approach

With the rapid development of wired and wireless networks, the security needs within network systems are becoming increasingly intensive owing to the continuous development of new applications. Existing cryptography algorithms differ from each other in many ways including their security complexity, size of the key and words operated on, and processing time. Nevertheless, the main factors that prioritize an encryption algorithm over others are its ability to secure and protect data against attacks and its speed and efficiency. In this study, a reconfigurable Co-Design multi-purpose security design with very low complexity, weight, and cost, has been developed using Extended Tiny Encryption Algorithm (XTEA) data encryption standards. The paper aims to discuss issues and present solutions associated with this system, as well as compare the Co-Design implementation approach with Full-Hardware and Full-Software solutions. The main contribution that this paper offers is the profiling of XTEA cryptographic algorithm to reach more satisfactory understanding of its computation structure that leads to fully software, fully hardware, beside the co-design implementations all together, of this light weight encryption algorithm.