Cryptographic Algorithm Performance Assessment for AI Systems: ARIA, ZUC, AES, Camellia, and HC-256

Rebwar Khalid Muhammed; Aso Mohammed Aladdin; Shilan Abdullah Hassan; Hemin Sardar Abdulla; Mohammed Abubakr Ahmed; Shaida Jumaah Sayda

doi:10.51173/ijds.v3i2.74

Authors

Rebwar Khalid Muhammed Network Department, Computer Science Institute, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaimani 46001, KR, Iraq https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3288-7340
Aso Mohammed Aladdin Computer Science Department, College of Science, Charmo University, Sulaimani, Chamchamal 46023, KR, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8734-0811
Shilan Abdullah Hassan School of Computer Science and Engineering, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5263-8853
Hemin Sardar Abdulla Computer Science Department, College of Science, Charmo University, Sulaimani, Chamchamal 46023, KR, Iraq https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4654-5248
Mohammed Abubakr Ahmed Information Technology Department, Tishk International University, Sulaimani, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6738-3945
Shaida Jumaah Sayda Kirkuk Education Department of Kurdish Studies, Ministry of Education, Kirkuk, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-004X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51173/ijds.v3i2.74

Keywords:

ARIA, ZUC, AES, Camellia, HC256

Abstract

With the expansion of AI applications into new horizons, security issues have become a top priority. Traditional AI systems are not very secure and are vulnerable to attacks and data breaches. The interconnected world we live in requires data to be kept private, protected, and verified, which can be achieved through modern security measures that incorporate cryptographic algorithms. This study evaluates the efficacy of five cryptographic algorithms, ARIA, ZUC, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Camellia, and HC256, regarding key generation duration, encryption and decryption speeds, and memory consumption to identify the optimal solution for practical implementations. Results show HC256 achieving the fastest encryption and decryption times of 105.6 ms and 75.6 ms, respectively, and the lowest memory usage of 1.28 MB for encryption and 1.38 MB for decryption, proving it is the most efficient in performance-sensitive settings. AES demonstrated balanced performance with moderate encryption and decryption times (116.6 ms and 115.6 ms, respectively) and relatively low memory consumption (6.36 MB), while maintaining strong cryptographic robustness. Camellia demonstrated strong cryptographic robustness according to previous literature; however, it exhibited the lowest computational efficiency in the present experimental evaluation, with the highest encryption and decryption times among the tested algorithms, but was found to yield the lowest efficiency for real-time applications, with the greatest encryption and decryption times of 1886.8 ms and 687 ms, respectively. ARIA and ZUC also exhibit different trade-offs, with ZUC showing moderate efficiency and ARIA requiring greater resources.

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