Implementation of Elliptic Curve Cryptography in Flood and Environmental Monitoring IoT Systems

Author : Usman Adeel

Abstract : Introduction & Context: Traditional infrastructure is shifting globally toward decentralized Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), as seen in the Stanley SuDS Project. These operations rely heavily on battery-powered edge sensor arrays (e.g., radar river-gauge elements, ultrasonic gully monitors) to measure critical environmental variables and prevent flash flood disasters. This telemetry uses a split topology: short-range Bluetooth links handle manual configuration, while wide-area 5G cellular backhaul networks route raw data directly to AWS IoT Core cloud instances for public emergency warning dashboards. Problem Statement: Because these outdoor systems are deployed in remote, unmonitored geographic catchments, they face a severe cyber-physical attack surface. Malicious actors can capture field hardware to extract static memory signatures or execute data injection spoofing. For example, injecting a normal depth metric during an active storm can delay regional emergency evacuations. Securing these channels using standard enterprise public-key ciphers like RSA is impossible due to hardware constraints. Heavy ciphers require massive computational overhead, which causes network latency and quickly drains the batteries of remote sensors. Proposed Solution: Lightweight ECC: We evaluate Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) as a lightweight public-key framework. Built on the algebraic structure of cubic curves over finite fields y2 = x3+ ax + b ECC derives its strength from the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP). Because solving the scalar multiplication. Q = k . G is computationally difficult for adversaries, ECC provides strong cryptographic security using exceptionally small keys. End-to-End Handshake Pipeline: 1. Agreement: The field microcontrollers and AWS IoT Core select a standard curve (e.g., Secp256r1). 2. Key Generation: Nodes generate public/private key pairs (Q, k) directly on the edge chips. 3. Secret Exchange: Nodes establish a temporary session key across the 5G backhaul via an Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) handshake. 4. Payload Encryption: Telemetry readings are encrypted using a lightweight symmetric algorithm (AES-128) and uploaded. 5. Cloud Processing: The AWS IoT gateway decrypts and authenticates the packets using its cloud private key. Quantitative Performance Comparison: ECC scales efficiently, providing strong security while keeping keys compact: • Key Length Correspondence: A compact 256-bit ECC key delivers the exact same security margin as a large 3072-bit RSA key. This reduces payload size by 12x. • Execution Latency Multipliers: For standard 128-bit symmetric protection profiles, ECC operates approximately 10 to 100 times faster than standard RSA alternatives during key generation. • Resource Optimization: ECC uses significantly less static RAM and ROM. This preserves memory for data logging on small microcontrollers and reduces processing power to extend sensor battery lifespans. Strategic Recommendations & Conclusion: To protect environmental telemetry networks, system architectures should incorporate the following security measures: • Physical Hardware Hardening: Microcontrollers should use anti-tamper housings and cryptographic coprocessors to prevent physical extraction attacks. • Network-Side Intrusion Mitigation: Field gateways must monitor network traffic to detect anomalies, such as repetitive authentication attempts or unusual data spikes, mitigating battery-exhaustion DoS exploits. • Quantum Proofing: Future designs should incorporate post-quantum hybrid ciphers to protect long-term environmental datasets against emerging decryption risks. Conclusion: Implementing Elliptic Curve Cryptography balances processing constraints with robust data security. It provides reliable end-to-end data integrity and origin authentication for critical flood safety workflows, without shortening the operational lifespan of remote field sensors.

Keywords : SuDS, IoT security, lightweight ECC, ECDH, AES-128, flood telemetry, AWS IoT Core

Conference Name : International Conference on Network Security Protocols (ICNSYP - 26)

Conference Place : Reykjavik, Iceland

Conference Date : 20th Aug 2026