Evaluation of four encryption algorithms for viability, reliability and performance estimation

Abstract

Data and information in storage, in transit or during processing are found in various computers and computing devices with wide range of hardware specifications. Cryptography is the knowledge of using codes to encrypt and decrypt data. It enables one to store sensitive information or transmit it across computer in a more secured ways so that it cannot be read by anyone except the intended receiver. Cryptography also allows secure storage of sensitive data on any computer. Cryptography as an approach to computer security comes at a cost in terms of resource utilization such as time, memory and CPU usability time which in some cases may not be in abundance to achieve the set out objective of protecting data. This work looked into the memory construction rate, different key size, CPU utilization time period and encryption speed of the four algorithms to determine the amount of computer resource that is expended and how long it takes each algorithm to complete its task. Results shows that key length of the cryptographic algorithm is proportional to the resource utilization in most cases as found out in the key length of Blowfish, AES, 3DES and DES algorithms respectively. Further research can be carried out in order to determine the power utilization of each of these algorithms.

Keywords: Algorithm, Cryptography, Encryption, Evaluation, Performance, Decryption