A New Encryption Algorithm for Secure Aviation Communications

As an integral application within the aerospace and electronic engineering systems, the aviation system relies heavily on secure communication protocols to safeguard sensitive information exchanged during travel and operations. However, many existing communication systems lack adequate security, leaving them vulnerable to adversarial attacks and data exfiltration. While effective in many security protocols, classical encryption algorithms are susceptible to various attacks, including statistical, differential, and side-channel attacks. To address these vulnerabilities, a new cryptographic encryption algorithm is proposed based on the extended Feistel network structure and binary tree structure. This algorithm enhances security measures by segmenting plaintext into blocks of 1024 bits, further divided into left and right halves across four distinct levels. Encryption begins at Level 64, employing a summation-based algorithm and xor operations to ensure diffusion and confusion properties. The parallel implementation of encryption enhances processing speed while deriving subkeys from a sensitive secret key enhances security against single-bit changes. Experimental assessments and security analyses demonstrate the robustness of the proposed cipher against various attacks. The proposed cipher offers high-quality encryption capabilities, making it an ideal candidate for inclusion in the secure communication protocols of aviation systems.