COMPARISON OF AES AND DES CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS ON FPGA

Abstract

The topic of this study is the methods of cryptography, which is the fine art of transforming messages or data in order to render them unrecognizable and resistant to attacks. It involves encryption and decryption processes. Given the growing complexity of data production, the need for safe communication is also rising quite rapidly. The efficiency of communication systems, including packet processing and cryptography, relies not only on the capacity of the network but also on the level of encryption-decryption. Network processors are programmable processors unique to applications and have become critical components of next-generation network equipment. In this study, we will compare some well-known cryptography methods and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these methods for crypto-processor design. With the fast progression of the internet, in terms of data collection and delivery, cyber protection is becoming extremely relevant every day. The use of cryptographic algorithms has accomplished the protection of sensitive data and the preservation of cyber security. Most recognized cryptographic algorithms are DES and AES. Due to the growth of processor capability, the DES algorithm is replaced with AES. Encryption operation changes a plain text data to scrambled binary data called ciphertext. The original text can be retrieved with an special key from the ciphertext. This study aims to analyze cryptographic algorithms that can be programmed in software. Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been used to produce crypto-processors. The chosen algorithms will be implemented on FPGA due to their fast and easy programming capabilities. Timing simulation is conducted to check the built circuit's functionality. Furthermore, the commonly used encryption algorithms are also compared in terms of the parameters such as Speed, Memory usage and Block usage. The algorithms were implemented using the Xilinx Spartan 6 Tool for embedded and portable applications. The results show that AES needs less processing time than DES, requires less memory and blocks for encryption/decryption process.