TY - GEN
T1 - Analyzing the energy consumption of security protocols
AU - Potlapally, N. R.
AU - Ravi, S.
AU - Raghunathan, A.
AU - Jha, N. K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2003 ACM.
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Security is critical to a wide range of wireless data applications and services. While several security mechanisms and protocols have been developed in the context of the wired Internet, many new challenges arise due to the unique characteristics of battery powered embedded systems. In this work, we focus on an important constraint of such devices - battery life - and examine how it is impacted by the use of security protocols. We present a comprehensive analysis of the energy requirements of a wide range of cryptographic algorithms that are used as building blocks in security protocols. Furthermore, we study the energy consumption requirements of the most popular transport-layer security protocol SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive analysis of the energy requirements of SSL. For our studies, we have developed a measurement-based experimental testbed that consists of an iPAQ PDA connected to a wireless LAN and running Linux, a PC-based data acquisition system for real-time current measurement, the OpenSSL implementation of the SSL protocol, and parametrizable SSL client and server test programs. We investigate the impact of various parameters at protocol level (such as cipher suites, authentication mechanisms, transaction sizes, etc.) and cryptographic algorithm level (cipher modes, strength) on overall energy consumption for secure data transactions. Based on our results, we discuss various opportunities for realizing energy-efficient implementations of security protocols. We believe such investigations to be an important first step towards addressing the challenges of energy efficient security for battery-constrained systems.
AB - Security is critical to a wide range of wireless data applications and services. While several security mechanisms and protocols have been developed in the context of the wired Internet, many new challenges arise due to the unique characteristics of battery powered embedded systems. In this work, we focus on an important constraint of such devices - battery life - and examine how it is impacted by the use of security protocols. We present a comprehensive analysis of the energy requirements of a wide range of cryptographic algorithms that are used as building blocks in security protocols. Furthermore, we study the energy consumption requirements of the most popular transport-layer security protocol SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive analysis of the energy requirements of SSL. For our studies, we have developed a measurement-based experimental testbed that consists of an iPAQ PDA connected to a wireless LAN and running Linux, a PC-based data acquisition system for real-time current measurement, the OpenSSL implementation of the SSL protocol, and parametrizable SSL client and server test programs. We investigate the impact of various parameters at protocol level (such as cipher suites, authentication mechanisms, transaction sizes, etc.) and cryptographic algorithm level (cipher modes, strength) on overall energy consumption for secure data transactions. Based on our results, we discuss various opportunities for realizing energy-efficient implementations of security protocols. We believe such investigations to be an important first step towards addressing the challenges of energy efficient security for battery-constrained systems.
KW - Batteries
KW - Communication system security
KW - Cryptographic protocols
KW - Cryptography
KW - Current measurement
KW - Data security
KW - Energy consumption
KW - Energy efficiency
KW - Power system security
KW - System testing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=1542269608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=1542269608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/LPE.2003.1231830
DO - 10.1109/LPE.2003.1231830
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:1542269608
T3 - Proceedings of the International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design
SP - 30
EP - 35
BT - ISLPED 2003 - Proceedings of the 2003 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2003 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design, ISLPED 2003
Y2 - 25 August 2003 through 27 August 2003
ER -