An Optimal Light Weight Cryptography—SIMON Block Cipher for Secure Image Transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

With rapid growth of multimedia applications, secure image transmission over Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a challenging task. So, image encryption techniques are used to meet the demand for real-time image security over wireless networks. In the proposed research, the security of Digital Images (DI) in wireless sensor network is enhanced using Light Weight Ciphers (LWC) which encrypts the input image through encryption process. To improve DI privacy and confidentiality, an innovative security model is proposed i.e. Lightweight SIMON block cipher. The proposed LWC encrypted the image along with optimal key selection and enhanced the image security level in the cloud. For key optimization, a meta-heuristic algorithm called Opposition-based Particle Swarm Optimization (OPSO) algorithm was presented. The proposed SIMON-OPSO achieved the minimum time in generating key value to decrypt the image. The simulation result demonstrated that the SIMON-OPSO algorithm improves the accuracy of DI security for all input images (Lena, Barbara, Baboon, and House) compared to existing algorithms.