What is cryptography. lightweight cryptography?

Cryptography is the practice of securing communication and data by converting them into an unreadable format using mathematical algorithms, also known as ciphers. This helps protect the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of information, ensuring that only authorized parties can access and understand the data.


Lightweight cryptography refers to cryptographic algorithms and protocols that are designed to be efficient and resource-friendly, particularly for use in constrained environments with limited computing power, memory, or energy, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, embedded systems, and other resource-constrained environments. Lightweight cryptography aims to provide strong security while minimizing the computational overhead and energy consumption, making it suitable for devices with limited computing capabilities.

Lightweight cryptography typically involves the use of smaller key sizes, reduced computational complexity, and optimized implementations to achieve the desired security goals while minimizing the resource requirements. Some common examples of lightweight cryptographic algorithms include lightweight block ciphers, lightweight hash functions, lightweight message authentication codes (MACs), and lightweight public-key cryptography schemes.

The need for lightweight cryptography arises from the proliferation of IoT devices and embedded systems, which often operate with limited computational resources and need to transmit data securely over the internet or other communication channels. Lightweight cryptography plays a crucial role in ensuring the security of these devices and protecting sensitive data in resource-constrained environments.

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