Evaluating ASCON Lightweight Encryption Algorithm for Image Encryption

Researchers over the past few decades have proposed specialized algorithms for image encryption, in order to solve the slow encryption speed and high computational requirements of traditional encryption algorithms. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) selected the Ascon algorithm as the new standard for lightweight cryptography applications. In this paper, the Ascon algorithm is tested and evaluated for image encryption. Experimental results show that the Ascon is fast, reliable, and secure. Experimental results further reveal that the Ascon either outperforms most of the contemporary image encryption algorithms in terms of image encryption metrics for quality, efficiency, and security or performs similar to other algorithms.