In his doctoral dissertation, MSc Eugene Frimpong presents seven publications on elevating trust in resource-constrained devices deployed in critical environments. Recognizing the limitations of traditional public key cryptography (PKC) in such settings, he proposed lightweight adaptations of modern cryptographic schemes, including functional encryption and homomorphic encryption (i.e. schemes that allow computations over encrypted data).
These adaptations are specifically tailored to address the limited memory, computational power, and storage capacity of these devices.
“By demonstrating the feasibility of implementing advanced cryptographic schemes on resource-constrained devices, this research not only addresses the immediate challenges but profoundly enhances trust in the security and privacy of the IoT ecosystem,” Frimpong says.
“In addition, by making implementations of advanced cryptographic primitives publicly available, we help the research community grow and allow industries to design more effective, privacy-respecting online services. In this way, technological progress can help bring societal change as it promotes equality and the development of more democratic societies,” Frimpong continues.
The cryptographic potential of any device is bounded by its computational resources
The resource constraints of the chosen devices presented challenges when adapting modern cryptographic schemes as these devices struggle to handle complex cryptographic operations.
Additionally, the memory demands for storing keys, ciphertexts, and other data further complicated the implementation of the proposed schemes.
Communication overhead also became a critical issue, as protocols built on modern cryptographic primitives involve the exchange of large data packets, putting further strain on the constrained devices.
Despite these challenges, Frimpong’s research emphasizes the need to develop efficient cryptographic solutions that can enhance the security and privacy of IoT ecosystems, enabling the realization of a secure, connected digital future.
Eugene Frimpong is a Ghanaian who moved to Finland to pursue his doctoral studies. He is currently working as a Cybersecurity Engineer at Danfoss Editron.
Public defence on Friday 7 February
The doctoral dissertation of MSc Eugene Frimpong in the field of information security, titled CryptoQuest: Adapting Modern Cryptographic Schemes for Resource-Constrained Devices, will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences at Tampere University in room TB109 of the Tietotalo building (address: Korkeakoulunkatu 1, Tampere) at 12:00 on Friday, 7 February 2025.
The opponent will be Professor Vladimir Oleshchuk from the University of Agder, Norway. The Custos will be Associate Professor Antonis Michalas from Tampere University, Finland.
The doctoral dissertation is available online.
The public defence can be followed via remote connection. (Link will be updated.)