Volume 10, Issue 2, February – 2025 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14910222

Cryptography with Field

Programmable Gate Arrays
Reena Kulkarni1; Dr. Keerti Kulkarni2
Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering K.S. School of
1

Engineering and Management Bengaluru, India

2
Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering B.N.M. Institute of Technology Bengaluru, India

Publication Date: 2025/02/22

Abstract: Cryptography is an important process of modern secure communication, and as the need for faster and more
efficient encryption methods grows, hardware-based solutions have become significant. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays
(FPGAs) offer flexible and efficient platform for implementing cryptographic systems and hence a promising solution for
securing modern digital communications like, in Internet of Things and embedded system applications. This paper
discusses the different cryptographic algorithms and how FPGAs are advantageous over other hardware-based security
implementations.

Keywords: Symmetric Key, Asymmetric Key, FPGAs, ASIC, Hardware Based Security.

How to Cite: Reena Kulkarni; Dr. Keerti Kulkarni (2025). Cryptography with Field Programmable Gate Arrays. International
Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 10(2), 356-359.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14910222

I. INTRODUCTION  AES (Advanced Encryption Standard):

In most of the electrical and electronic applications, low  It has support for three-length keys: 128 bits, 192 bits, or
power and security of data and network have become a 256 bits, with the most commonly used one being 128-bit
significant consideration similar to the performance of the key.
system. Cryptography, which is the art of securing data has  It is used for data encryption in storage devices,
led to evolution of modern techniques to ensure integrity, internet browsers, file and disk compression. wireless
confidentiality and authentication of the data being networks, databases, etc.
transmitted [1],[2]. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays
(FPGAs) offer a customizable environment as they are  DES (Data Encryption Standard) and Triple DES:
reconfigurable and the allow for rapid modifications without
needing to produce new hardware.  In DES, the 64-bit blocks of plaintext are encrypted using
a 56-bit key.
This paper focuses on the various algorithms in  Triple DES applies DES thrice in a sequential manner on
cryptography and advantages of using FPGAs over other every plaintext block.
hardware-based implementations for cryptographic  Due to small key size DES algorithm is vulnerable to
algorithm. brute-force attacks.
 DES algorithms are used in random number generation
II. ALGORITHMS OF CRYPTOGRAPHY and deployed in applications where not-so-strong
encryption is needed.
Cryptographic algorithms provide the foundation for
securing data in terms of Confidentiality, Integrity and  RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4):
Authentication of data being transmitted [1]. The algorithms
can be broadly classified into two categories: symmetric-key  RC4 is a stream cipher, which uses a variable-length key,
and asymmetric-key algorithms. typically between 40 and 2048 bits.
 It was widely used in protocols like SSL/TLS (Secure
The Symmetric–key algorithm [3],[4] rely on use of a Socket Layer/ Transport Layer Security) and WEP (Wired
single key for encryption and decryption. The most common Equivalent Privacy), but is no longer considered secure
algorithms include: due to security vulnerabilities.

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Volume 10, Issue 2, February – 2025 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14910222
In Asymmetric encryption [3],[4] (or public-key management and use of libraries and frameworks, like,
cryptography), two different keys are used: a public key for PyCryptodome (Python library), OpenSSL (widely used C
encryption and a private key for decryption. Some of library), Bouncy Castle (Java library), libsodium (for modern
asymmetric algorithms include: cryptography).

 RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman):  Hardware Implementation of Cryptographic Algorithm:

The most commonly used algorithms for securing data
 RSA is based on the mathematical problem of factoring include Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data
large prime numbers. Encryption Standard (DES), RSA algorithm, Message Digest
 RSA is commonly used for secure data transmission, 5 (MD5), Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) [6],[7]. All these
digital signatures, and key exchange. algorithms are highly secured because of complex
mathematical computations they possess, securing the data
 ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography): and hence making hacking a tedious job. The hardware
implementation of algorithms presents enhancement in the
 ECC uses the mathematics of elliptic curves over finite speed of execution, efficiency and reliability of security
fields for encryption. standards.
 ECC is commonly used in modern cryptographic systems,
especially in mobile devices and low-power systems. The cryptographic algorithms can be implemented on
ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) and/or
 DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm): FPGAs; both of these are discussed in the following sections.

 DSA is a standard for digital signatures based on the  Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs):
discrete logarithm problem and is used for verifying the ASIC is a specialized integrated circuit (IC) designed
authenticity and integrity of data. for specific applications instead of general-purpose use.
 It’s widely used in digital certificates, especially in ASICs differ fundamentally from general integrated circuits
conjunction with the SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) like microprocessors and memory chips, designed for diverse
family of hash functions (e.g., SHA-1, SHA-2). applications and mass production. The primary objective of
ASICs is to achieve a specific functionality with the highest
 ElGamal: possible efficiency, which can be in terms of power
consumption, performance, and cost.
 ElGamal encryption is based on the Diffie-Hellman key
exchange protocol. It provides both encryption and digital ASIC is optimized for speed, power, and size, and can
signatures. offer the best performance and efficiency for a given task.
 It is used in is used as a part of the free GNU Privacy However, an ASIC is expensive and time-consuming to
Guard Software, late forms of PGP, and different design and manufacture, and it cannot be reprogrammed or
cryptosystems. modified once it is fabricated. ASICs can be broadly
classified into two types: full custom ASICs and semi-custom
The other classification of cryptographic algorithms ASICs.
includes Key exchange, Hashing and Digital Signatures.The
choice of algorithm depends on the specific security ASICs find applications in diverse fields, including
requirements, such as speed, resource availability, and the cryptocurrency mining, telecommunications, consumer
type of attack resistance needed. electronics, automotive systems, AI/ML (Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning), medical devices, and
III. IMPLEMENTATION OF financial applications.
CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS
 Disadvantages of ASICs:
The cryptographic algorithms can be implemented in While ASICs offer exceptional performance, power
software on a general-purpose hardware or dedicated efficiency, and tailored functionality, they come with several
hardware. The criterion to implement cryptographic disadvantages that make them less suitable for certain
algorithms in software versus hardware depends on several applications. These include:
parameters like, performance, security, flexibility, cost, and
power consumption.  High upfront costs for design and fabrication
 Lack of flexibility and limited reusability
 Software Implementation of Cryptographic Algorithm:  Long development time
Software implementation of cryptographic algorithms  Risk of obsolescence as technologies evolve
includes writing code to perform the mathematical processes  Volume dependence for cost-effectiveness
of cryptographic algorithm, ensuring data confidentiality,  Complexity in design and manufacturing
integrity, and authentication [5].
Hence, for applications where flexibility, low-volume
The various considerations in software implementations production, or rapid prototyping is necessary, FPGAs can be
are efficiency, compliance to standards, security, key more appropriate.

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Volume 10, Issue 2, February – 2025 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14910222
 Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)  High-Level Design & Architecture
FPGA is a chip that is reprogrammable with a collection  RTL Design (Register Transfer Level)
of hundreds of thousands of logic gates that are connected  Synthesis & Optimization
internally together to build a complex digital circuit. FPGAs  Physical Design & Layout
can be broadly classified into two types: SRAM (static  Verification & Validation
random-access memory)-based and flash-based.  Manufacturing & Packaging
 Deployment & Testing in Real-World Application
FPGAs provide high performance, customization, and
parallel processing capabilities [8], [9]. They offer a flexible  And a Typical flow for Implementing Cryptographic
and efficient solution for accelerating cryptographic Algorithms on an FPGA Include the Following:
operations, especially in cases where high throughput and
low latency are critical, such as in security protocols,  Requirement Analysis & Algorithm Selection
blockchain, network encryption, and secure communications.  Algorithm Design & Analysis
 High-Level Design & Architecture
Some of the commonly implemented cryptographic  HDL Design (Register Transfer Level)
algorithms on FPGAs include AES, RSA, ECC, Hash  Simulation & Functional Verification
functions, Public key cryptography (for key exchanges),  Synthesis & Design Optimization
Digital Signatures and Random Number Generation (RNG).  Implementation & Placement/Routing
 Post-Synthesis Simulation & Timing Verification
IV. IMPLEMENTATION FLOW FOR  Programming the FPGA & Real-World Testing
CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS  Deployment & Integration

 A Typical Flow for Implementing Cryptographic  FPGA versus ASIC comparison summary
Algorithms on an ASIC Include the Following: Table 1 highlights the major differences between ASICs
and FPGAs, focusing on their suitability for various
 Requirement Analysis & Algorithm Selection applications and the trade-offs between performance,
 Algorithm Design & Analysis flexibility, cost, and development time.

Table 1 Summary comparing ASICs and FPGAs

Feature ASIC FPGA
Customization Highly specialized, fixed design Reconfigurable, flexible
Performance High performance, power-efficient Lower performance, higher power consumption
Cost High initial cost, lower per-unit cost at scale Lower initial cost, higher cost at large volumes
Development time Long (months) Short(weeks)
Power Efficiency Very power-efficient Higher power consumption
Telecommunications, cryptocurrency mining, Smartphones, autonomous vehicles, cameras, displays,
Application areas
consumer electronics, automotive systems, video and image processing, and security systems

V. CONCLUSION [2]. Abdalbasit Mohammed, Nurhayat Varol, “A Review

Paper on Cryptography”, 7th International
The ASIC implementation flow for cryptographic Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security
algorithms is a rigorous process involving several detailed (ISDFS), DOI:10.1109/ISDFS.2019.8757514,
steps, from requirement analysis to final deployment. The IEEE, 2019
upfront costs, long development time, and lack of flexibility [3]. Ridwan B. Marqas, Saman M. Almufti, Rasheed
make ASICs most suitable for high-volume, mission-critical Rebar Ihsan, “Comparing Symmetric and Asymmetric
applications. However, the FPGA implementation flow for cryptography in message encryption and decryption
cryptographic algorithms is a highly structured and multi-step by using AES and RSA algorithms”, Journal of Xi'an
process. With their high parallelism, low latency, and University of Architecture & Technology, Issn No:
reconfigurability, FPGAs offer a flexible and powerful 1006-7930 Page No: 3110, Volume XII, Issue III,
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require high performance, security, and efficiency. [4]. Priasnyomo Prima Santoso, Elkin Rilvani, Ahmad
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ISSN No:-2456-2165 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14910222
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