IT-Security For Less Than One Cent

An increasing number of everyday devices such as car keys, smart phones and even medical implants need protection from hackers.

The encryption method PRESENT is the smallest cipher for such cost and energy constrained applications. It is the result of a collaboration between the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), Orange Labs France and the Technical University of Denmark.

The cipher design is characterized by its hardware efficiency which makes it even applicable in health insurance cards or RFID-labels (substitute for bar codes). Because the cipher combines low costs with a particularly high level of security it is becoming an international standard now.

From Logistics to Medical Technology

The adoption of the cipher by the “International Organization for Standardization (ISO)” is considered a major approval by the designers.

“For several years there has been a growing demand by industry for building blocks, which aren’t only offering excellent security, but are cost efficient. PRESENT is the first cipher which was developed especially for this purpose. It provides security at costs of less than one cent”, says Prof. Christof Paar (Chair for Embedded Security).

PRESENT won the German IT-Security Award in 2010 and will be used in logistics, in vehicles and machines and in medical technologies within the next years. It is widely considered a successful example of IT security made in Germany.