Researchers seek to develop small, low-cost, and energy-efficient cryptography for IoT trusted computing

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop small, low-cost, and energy-efficient cryptography for internet-of-things (IoT) devices that will be deployed in large numbers.

Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued a small-business innovation research (SBIR) solicitation (HR001120S0019-21) on Tuesday for the Cryptography for Hyper-scale Architectures in a Robust Internet Of Things (CHARIOT) project.

CHARIOT will prototype low-cost, low-footprint, post-quantum cryptographic techniques with minimal energy use for IoT devices in vehicle-embedded and wearable uses with a zero-trust networking architectures.

Of particular interest are uses such as wearable-equipped passengers entering, traveling in, and departing from a vehicle such as a troop carrier or school bus.

Related: Trends in trusted computing and network security in aerospace and defense embedded computing applications

CHARIOT will develop revolutionary approaches for fast, efficient, and quantum-resistant cryptographic operations for IoT devices that involve confidential communications, message integrity, group membership, and scalable key management.

Exponential price and performance improvements in semiconductor technology are enabling even the smallest and most application-specific devices like sensors and actuators to include networking capabilities. Most of these devices will be cheap and power-constrained, DARPA researchers explain.

Revolutionary security technologies are necessary for these kinds of IoT devices. The problem, however, centers on the relatively high power consumption of today's public-key cryptography. Devices expected to last for at least 10 years, moreover, discourage the use of cryptography-based trusted-computing.

Related: Military researchers ask industry for autonomous vehicle swarms technology with trusted computing built-in

Instead, CHARIOT will prototype low-cost, low-footprint, post-quantum cryptographic techniques with minimal energy use for IoT devices.

Companies interested should submit proposals no later than 29 Sept. 2020 to the Defense SBIR/SSTR Innovation Portal online at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. Email questions or concerns to DARPA at [email protected], with BAA HR001120S0019-21 in the subject line.

More information is online at https://beta.sam.gov/opp/f5b34b42148b4fc5b02d3e418575a886/view.