The key schedule algorithm (KSA) is a crucial element of symmetric block ciphers with a direct security impact. Despite its undeniable significance, the KSA is still a less focused area in the design of an encryption algorithm. PRESENT is a symmetric lightweight block cipher that provides the optimal balance between security, performance, and minimal cost in IoT. However, the linear functions in KSA lead to a slow and predictable bit transition, indicating the relationship between round keys. A robust KSA should produce random and independent round keys irrespective of the secret key. Therefore, this research aims to improve the KSA PRESENT-128 block cipher with enhanced randomness, round key bit difference, and the avalanche effect. The experiments on round keys and ciphertext with random, low density and high-density secret key datasets endorse the expected improvements. Moreover, the results show that the improved KSA produces random round keys that successfully pass the NIST randomness test. The bit transition from one round key to another is increased from 20% to 40%, where a greater inclination of the avalanche effect has an increased effect with 50% bit change. On the other hand, the improved KSA PRESENT requires an additional $0.001871$ s to generate round keys, as a security cost trade-off.

Advances in wireless communication technologies and sensors have empowered development of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). The wireless nature of network and variety of sensors offer numerous new, practical and innovative applications to improve health monitoring and other health care applications system. In the past few years, many researches focused on building system architecture of health monitoring to improve the technical requirement specifically designed for WBAN. However, as part of communication medium, WBAN faces with various security issues such as loss of data, authentication and access control. Less research were found in providing strong security system in WBAN. Throughout this study, we believe that WBAN can provide various applications including medical and non-medical. In this paper, we present an overview of body area network and their related issues emphasis in security problem. We also provide the differences between Wireless Body Area Network and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that is inadequate to apply in WBAN although some challenges faced by WBAN are in many ways similar to WSN. Finally, we highlight security challenges that still need to be addressed to make WBAN truly ubiquitous for a wide range of applications.

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a wireless network that can be attached or implanted onto the human body by using wireless sensor. Since WBAN developed for medical devices, the system should be design for a wide range of end user with different professional skill groups. This require WBAN system to be open, accurate and efficient. As from our previous experienced, any open system is vulnerable, similar to any other current available wireless systems such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). However, currently there were not many discussions on the WBAN security vulnerability and security threats and if there is any, the issues were discussed through theoretical, concept and simulation data. In this paper, we discuss potential WBAN security vulnerability and threats using Practical Impact Assessment (PIA) conducted in real environment so that we are able to identify the problem area in details and develop potential solutions to produce a forensics readiness secure network architecture for WBAN system.

The vast interconnection of resource-constrained devices and the immense amount of data exchange in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment resulted in the resurgence of various security threats. This resource-constrained environment of IoT makes data security a very challenging task. Recent trends in integrating lightweight cryptographic algorithms have significantly improved data security in the IoT without affecting performance. The PRESENT block cipher, a standard and lightweight benchmark algorithm, is a widely accepted and implemented algorithm with a simple design, low-cost implementation, and optimum performance. However, this simple design utilizing lightweight linear and non-linear functions led to slow confusion and diffusion properties. The static bits in the permutation layer are the leading cause of slow diffusion, showcasing dependencies between plaintext and ciphertext bits. This research addresses and seeks to overcome this shortcoming of slow confusion and diffusion using the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) replication process and shift-aided operations, leading to the DNA-PRESENT block cipher. Security, cost, and performance analyses were performed to verify the improvements. The results demonstrated that with only 33.5% additional cost, DNA-PRESENT increased key sensitivity to 73.57%, plaintext sensitivity to 33%, and consistently ensured an average bit error rate (BER) of 50.2%. An evident increase of 176.47 kb/s in throughput and reduced latency to 17 cycles/block kept the good hardware efficiency of 43.41 kbps/KGE, and the reduction in execution time by 0.2333 s led to better performance. Considering the security advances achieved, this cost increase is a trade-off between security and performance.

A recent trend in the field of biometrics is ECG-based, where electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are used as input to the biometric system. Previous work has shown that ECG has a good potential, which can be used alone as a biometric parameter or in combination with some other parameters for greater accuracy, due to its main key properties. This paper presents a study on the applicability of ECG signals in securing Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) communications. We study the permanence and the distinctiveness properties of ECG signals on 10 random patients. The Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) are applied on the ECG signals obtained from MIT-BIH Normal Synus Rhythm (nsrdb) public database. The experimental results are presented, which exhibit that ECG signal can be utilized properly to achieve better security performance under the stringent constraints of WBAN sensors. Thus, it is believed that the system can naturally secure the information transmission within WBAN, where other techniques use hardware and software to achieve the same purpose.