Abstract

RC4 encryption algorithm [3,12,16] was examined based on the text to be encrypted and the chosen key. It is a symmetric key algorithm and uses stream cipher i.e. data is being encrypted bit by bit. The same algorithm is used for both encryption and decryption. The data stream is XORed with the generated key sequence and the key stream is completely independent of the plaintext used. The weakness of the algorithm has been found out and is being rectified. We proposed a modification in RC4 algorithm that would result in saving the memory space and also augment the performance by reducing the time. The proposed algorithm explains that we can have the key as an image so that we can compress it and store. Hence the algorithm yields better results in hardware also.

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