Entropy Management Technique In Lightweight Cryptographically Secured Smart Home

Abstract

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications have affected every aspect of human endeavours; from smart manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, Government, cities, transportation to Homes. The ubiquitous nature of IoT makes the security of information on transit and at rest a great concern, especially to smart home appliances. Noncomputer and non-smartphone nature of IoT devices such as alarms, internet-connected “wearable” devices, thermostats and refrigerators make the devices, environment and users vulnerable to malicious attacks. This comes as a result of lack of built-in security facilities for IoT and smart home devices. Also, this has brought about security and privacy challenges as regards confidentiality, integrity and authentication. In this paper, we present entropy management through entropy shifting, stretching and mixing techniques to enhance the traditional Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA). The technique is developed to address “equivalent keys” in information encryption and device security of appliances in smart homes. This work provides security for smart homes through entropy management technique that overcomes the weakness of “equivalent keys” and the unique “small footprint” in the traditional TEA.