Performance Comparison of Some Asymmetric Data Encryption Algorithms

This research compares the performance of different data encryption techniques using cryptographic evaluation metrics. Encryption in cryptography involves encoding data to prevent unauthorized access, transforming plaintext into ciphertext. Many encryption methods exist, but their effectiveness varies and has not been thoroughly assessed. Previous studies have focused on evaluating public-key cryptography, particularly RSA and ECC algorithms, across various parameters. Findings suggest risks associated with smaller key sizes. Therefore, this study evaluates the performance of RSA, DSA, PGP, and ECC algorithms. Ten JPEG medical images (ranging from 321kb to 675kb) and two video files (2.23 mb in AVI and MP4 formats) were obtained from www.pexel.com for testing purposes. The images were converted to grayscale and the video frames were converted to ASCII values to accelerate encryption and decryption processes. Python 3.11 was used to implement encryption algorithms, and their performance was evaluated based on encryption time, decryption time, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and key length. The RSA, DSA, PGP, and ECC gave 0.0065s, 0.0754s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.0486s, 0.0391s, inf (dB), and 1024 bits; 0.1986s, 0.2779s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.0125s, 0.0031s, inf (dB), and 256 bits for encryption time, decryption time, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and key length respectively for medical images. The corresponding values for video avi data were 0.0129s, 0.0609s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.1269s, 0.1339s, inf (dB), and 1024 bits; 0.2954s, 0.2428s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.0169, 0.0109s, inf (dB), and 256 bits respectively. Also, the corresponding values for video mp4 data were 0.0159s, 0.0919s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.1539s, 0.1399s, inf (dB), and 1024 bits; 0.3738s, 0.2518s, inf (dB), and 2048 bits; 0.0721, 0.0090s, inf (dB), and 256 bits respectively. The study found that ECC outperforms RSA, DSA, and PGP in operational efficiency and security. ECC demonstrates shorter decryption times and stronger key lengths, with all algorithms achieving infinite peak signal-to-noise ratios, maintaining data quality throughout encryption and decryption. While RSA has the shortest encryption time, ECC excels across other metrics. The study recommends adopting ECC for shorter encryption times, faster decryption times, higher peak-to-noise ratios, and longer keys, highlighting its overall superiority. Keywords: Cryptography, Algorithm, Asymmetric, Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA), Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) Oluwasanya, E.O., Olabiyisi, S.O. & Omotosho, O.I. (2024): Performance Comparison of Some Asymmetric Data Encryption Algorithms. Journal of Advances in Mathematical & Computational Science. Vol. 12, No. 3. Pp 27-36 Available online at www.isteams.net/mathematics-computationaljournal. dx.doi.org/10.22624/AIMS/MATHS/V12N3P2