Security analysis of lightweight block cipher SIMON
Fujun Xu · IET conference proceedings. · 2025
As the Internet of Things develops rapidly, lightweight block ciphers have received widespread attention due to their efficient computing performance and resource consumption. SIMON is a well-known lightweight block cipher algorithm that has been adopted in many application scenarios due to its excellent hardware implementation performance. However, the security analysis of SIMON algorithm remains an important research topic. Differential cryptanalysis was initially proposed as a cryptanalysis method for DES, but it can still be effectively applied to cryptographic algorithms with similar structures and is one of the effective methods for attacking iterative block ciphers to date. This paper focuses on the Simon algorithm, first delving into its principles, covering the structural framework of the algorithm, including the setting of group length and key length, as well as the core nonlinear and linear transformation combination mechanism, such as bitwise XOR and cyclic shift operations in the round function and their association with the key, and the operational logic of the key orchestration scheme. Subsequently, the results of the differential cryptanalysis attack on the Simon algorithm will be elaborated in detail. By constructing a differential path and analyzing the relationship between input and output differentials, this provides a basis for further evaluating the security and improvement of the Simon algorithm.