A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange

Cloud computing has transformed data storage and processing by offering on-demand resources and global accessibility. However, this convenience introduces significant security risks due to the reliance on third-party services, raising concerns about data confidentiality and integrity. This research...

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Main Authors: Rebwar Khalid Muhammed, Zryan Najat Rashid, Shaida Jumaah Saydah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sulaimani Polytechnic University 2025-03-01
Series:Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://kjar.spu.edu.iq/index.php/kjar/article/view/973
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author Rebwar Khalid Muhammed
Zryan Najat Rashid
Shaida Jumaah Saydah
author_facet Rebwar Khalid Muhammed
Zryan Najat Rashid
Shaida Jumaah Saydah
author_sort Rebwar Khalid Muhammed
collection DOAJ
description Cloud computing has transformed data storage and processing by offering on-demand resources and global accessibility. However, this convenience introduces significant security risks due to the reliance on third-party services, raising concerns about data confidentiality and integrity. This research proposes a hybrid encryption model that combines the high-speed ChaCha20 algorithm for data encryption with the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) protocol for secure key exchange. The model ensures robust data protection in Cloud environments by generating a ChaCha20 key, encrypting it with ECDH, and securely storing encrypted key fragments in the cloud for later reassembly and decryption. This approach enhances security during data transmission and storage while mitigating the common vulnerabilities found in single-algorithm solutions. The study evaluates and compares the performance of ChaCha20 with ECDH against Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) with advanced encryption standard (AES) and Blowfish with Elliptic-Curve Cryptography (ECC). The results show that ChaCha20 with ECDH provides the fastest encryption time of 2ms and a key generation time of 15.8ms, with moderate memory usage. By contrast, RSA with AES is slower but offers consistent memory usage, while Blowfish with ECC balances speed and memory efficiency. The proposed hybrid model outperforms traditional encryption methods in both speed and security, making it suitable for modern cloud applications requiring scalability and high performance. Future research could focus on optimizing this model for resource-constrained environments, such as IoT and mobile.
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issn 2411-7684
2411-7706
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spelling doaj-art-6c2a2bdaedfc47d2873f4f269eed38572025-08-20T03:43:51ZengSulaimani Polytechnic UniversityKurdistan Journal of Applied Research2411-76842411-77062025-03-0110110.24017/science.2025.1.5A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key ExchangeRebwar Khalid Muhammed0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3288-7340Zryan Najat Rashid 1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3479-5510Shaida Jumaah Saydah 2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-004XDepartment of Network, Computer Science Institute, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.Department of Computer Network, Technical College of Informatics, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.Ministry of Education, Kirkuk Education Department of Kurdish Studies, Hawazen Preparatory School for Girls, Kirkuk, Iraq. Cloud computing has transformed data storage and processing by offering on-demand resources and global accessibility. However, this convenience introduces significant security risks due to the reliance on third-party services, raising concerns about data confidentiality and integrity. This research proposes a hybrid encryption model that combines the high-speed ChaCha20 algorithm for data encryption with the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) protocol for secure key exchange. The model ensures robust data protection in Cloud environments by generating a ChaCha20 key, encrypting it with ECDH, and securely storing encrypted key fragments in the cloud for later reassembly and decryption. This approach enhances security during data transmission and storage while mitigating the common vulnerabilities found in single-algorithm solutions. The study evaluates and compares the performance of ChaCha20 with ECDH against Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) with advanced encryption standard (AES) and Blowfish with Elliptic-Curve Cryptography (ECC). The results show that ChaCha20 with ECDH provides the fastest encryption time of 2ms and a key generation time of 15.8ms, with moderate memory usage. By contrast, RSA with AES is slower but offers consistent memory usage, while Blowfish with ECC balances speed and memory efficiency. The proposed hybrid model outperforms traditional encryption methods in both speed and security, making it suitable for modern cloud applications requiring scalability and high performance. Future research could focus on optimizing this model for resource-constrained environments, such as IoT and mobile. https://kjar.spu.edu.iq/index.php/kjar/article/view/973ChaCha20 EncryptionElliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH)Key Transfer
spellingShingle Rebwar Khalid Muhammed
Zryan Najat Rashid
Shaida Jumaah Saydah
A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research
ChaCha20 Encryption
Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH)
Key Transfer
title A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
title_full A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
title_fullStr A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
title_full_unstemmed A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
title_short A Hybrid Approach to Cloud Data Security Using ChaCha20 and ECDH for Secure Encryption and Key Exchange
title_sort hybrid approach to cloud data security using chacha20 and ecdh for secure encryption and key exchange
topic ChaCha20 Encryption
Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH)
Key Transfer
url https://kjar.spu.edu.iq/index.php/kjar/article/view/973
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