Lightweight Encryption Mechanism for IoT Healthcare Devices Using Fog-Assisted Architecture

The growing use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in healthcare has improved continuous monitoring, remote diagnosis, and real-time medical data analysis. However, these devices often have limited processing power and battery life. This makes traditional encryption methods too heavy for practical use. To tackle this issue, this study proposes a Lightweight Encryption Mechanism that uses a Fog-Assisted Architecture. The lightweight cipher cuts down on computational complexity for IoT devices while keeping sensitive medical data secure. Fog nodes, located between the devices and the cloud, manage tasks like key generation, authentication, and threat detection. This setup significantly reduces latency and energy use. Experimental analysis shows faster encryption speeds, lower resource use, and strong resistance to attacks, including replay, impersonation, and eavesdropping. The proposed system provides an efficient, secure, and scalable solution for real-time healthcare applications. It is especially suitable for smart hospitals and remote patient monitoring scenarios.