The rapid growth of Internet of Things (IoT) applications has intensified the demand for secure data communication under strict resource constraints such as limited memory, low computational power, and restricted energy availability. Conventional cryptographic algorithms are often unsuitable for IoT devices due to their high complexity and resource consumption. This work proposes an energy-efficient and low-footprint lightweight cryptographic algorithm specifically designed for IoT environments. The proposed scheme combines features of the LESED lightweight block cipher and the RC4 stream cipher to enhance security while maintaining simplicity. The algorithm operates on 64-bit plaintext with an 80-bit working key and a 7-bit constant, utilizing only three encryption rounds and simple logical operations such as XOR, XNOR, and bit shifting. Key scheduling is strengthened using an RC4-based mechanism to increase complexity and resistance against attacks. The algorithm is implemented in C and evaluated using the FELICS benchmarking framework on AVR architecture. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed cipher achieves significantly lower execution time, reduced memory consumption, and minimal energy usage compared to several well-known lightweight cryptographic algorithms. Furthermore, security analysis shows strong confusion and diffusion properties, high key sensitivity, a large key space, and compliance with the Strict Avalanche Criterion. These results confirm that the proposed algorithm is well-suited for secure and efficient data protection in resource-constrained IoT devices.
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