PhD Dissertation at the College of Information Technology Discusses a Secure and Lightweight Encryption Approach for Internet of Things Networks
Duhaa Fadill Abbas
The Information Networks Department at the College of Information Technology, University of Babylon, discussed a PhD dissertation entitled “A Secure and Lightweight Encryption Approach for Internet of Things Networks” presented by the doctoral candidate Azraa Jawad Hassan Watout under the supervision of Professor Dr. Ahmed Badri Muslim. The dissertation defense was held at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, 21 May 2026, in the Conference Hall of the College of Information Technology, in the presence of academics and researchers, reflecting the significance of the topic and its close relevance to the rapidly evolving challenges in the field of Internet of Things security.
The dissertation addressed the security challenges associated with Internet of Things (IoT) environments, in which smart devices are interconnected through networks using IP addresses that enable independent communication. These devices, however, vary significantly in terms of computational capabilities, memory capacity, energy resources, and communication efficiency. The study highlighted that conventional encryption methods are often insufficient for such resource-constrained environments due to the high computational costs imposed by many existing security algorithms on lightweight devices.
The dissertation proposed a lightweight Encryption–Authentication algorithm specifically designed for resource-limited IoT environments. The proposed algorithm operates using a single-round structure and was developed according to a unified modular architecture integrating encryption, authentication, real-time evolving internal states, and dynamic key-dependent rotations. These advanced characteristics have not previously been combined in this manner within lightweight cryptographic designs.
The study also included an extensive practical evaluation of the proposed algorithm using the ESP32 IoT platform. The experiments analyzed throughput, execution time, memory consumption, and power usage. The results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm significantly outperformed several well-known lightweight block ciphers, including SPECK, SIMON, and PRESENT, in terms of execution speed and computational efficiency. Furthermore, the algorithm achieved an average throughput of 9.639 KB/s while maintaining lower power consumption during encryption and Message Authentication Code (MAC) generation tasks.
To further strengthen the evaluation process, the comparison extended to ASCON, the lightweight authenticated encryption algorithm officially selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a standard lightweight cryptographic scheme. The findings revealed that the proposed algorithm surpassed ASCON in execution efficiency while maintaining equivalent security guarantees, highlighting the scientific and practical significance of the dissertation and its contribution to the advancement of secure solutions for Internet of Things environments.
This dissertation comes within the College of Information Technology’s commitment to supporting rigorous scientific research and keeping pace with modern developments in cybersecurity and intelligent technologies, thereby contributing to the enhancement of the research environment and the preparation of highly qualified scientific cadres capable of developing innovative technological solutions that serve society and various institutions.