Towards Sustainable and Trustworthy Digital Infrastructure: Benchmarking RSA and ECDSA Digital Signature Algorithms in Support of SDGs 9 and 16

Yuliani Puji Astuti; Ulfa Siti Nuraini

doi:10.63230/jocsis.2.1.212

Authors

Yuliani Puji Astuti Universitas Negeri Surabaya Author
Ulfa Siti Nuraini Universitas Negeri Surabaya Author https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7329-1873

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63230/jocsis.2.1.212

Keywords:

Cryptography, Digital Signature, ECDSA, RSA, Security

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate and compare the performance of the Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) digital signature schemes in terms of key generation, signing, verification, and storage efficiency. The research supports the advancement of secure digital communication systems aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9 and 16, which emphasize innovation, resilient digital infrastructure, and trustworthy institutions. Method: A quantitative experimental approach was employed on a Windows AMD64 platform using Python. Five cryptographic configurations were evaluated: RSA-2048, RSA-4096, ECDSA P-256, ECDSA P-384, and ECDSA P-521. Performance tests were conducted on payload sizes of 1 KB, 10 KB, and 100 KB. Each cryptographic operation, including key generation, signing, and verification, was repeated 100 times to ensure measurement consistency and reliability. Results: The findings indicate that ECDSA significantly outperforms RSA in several performance aspects. ECDSA P-256 reduced signature storage requirements by 72.3%, generated keys nearly 13,000 times faster than RSA-2048, and signed 10 KB payloads approximately 48 times faster. ECDSA P-384 also demonstrated strong performance while providing a higher security level. Although RSA-2048 remains suitable for legacy systems, its efficiency is lower than ECDSA-based alternatives. Novelty: This study provides a comprehensive comparative evaluation of multiple RSA and ECDSA variants across different payload sizes and operational metrics, offering practical recommendations for selecting digital signature algorithms. The results highlight ECDSA P-256 as the optimal choice for 128-bit security requirements and ECDSA P-384 for applications requiring stronger 192-bit security.

References

Arif, T., Jo, B., & Park, J. H. (2025). A comprehensive survey of privacy-enhancing and trust-centric cloud-native security techniques against cyber threats. Sensors, 25(8), 2350. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25082350

Banerjee, K., & Saha, S. (2025). Blockchain signatures to ensure information integrity and non-repudiation in the digital era. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.22561

Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S., Housley, R., & Polk, W. (2008). Internet X.509 public key infrastructure certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) profile. RFC Editor.

Ferretti, A., Fumagalli, A., Novali, F., Prati, C., Rocca, F., & Rucci, A. (2011). A new algorithm for processing interferometric data-stacks: SqueeSAR. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 49(9), 3460–3470. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2011.2124465

García-Cid, M. I., Martín, R., Domingo, D., Martín, V., & Ortiz, L. (2025). Design and implementation of a quantum-assisted digital signature. Cryptography, 9(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryptography9010011

Gjøsteen, K., & Jager, T. (2018). Practical and tightly-secure digital signatures and authenticated key exchange. Annual International Cryptology Conference, 3(319), 95–125. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96881-0_4

Hankerson, Menezes, A. J., & Vanstone, S. A. (2004). Guide to elliptic curve cryptography (2004th ed.). Springer.

Kumar, S., & Sharma, D. (2023). Key generation in cryptography using elliptic-curve cryptography and genetic algorithm. Engineering Proceedings, 59(1), 59. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4591/59/1/59#

Imam, R., Areeb, Q. M., Alturki, A., & Anwer, F. (2021). Systematic and critical review of rsa based public key cryptographic schemes: Past and present status. IEEE Access, 9, 155949–155976. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3129224

Johnson, D., Menezes, A., & Vanstone, S. (2001). The elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA). Int. J. Inf. Secur., 1(1), 36–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s102070100002

Lenstra, A. K., & Verheul, E. R. (2001). Selecting cryptographic key sizes. J. Cryptol., 14(4), 255–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00145-001-0009-4

Lone, A. H., & Khalique, A. (2016). Generalized RSA using 2k prime numbers with secure key generation. Security and Communication Networks, 9(17), 4443–4450. https://doi.org/10.1002/sec.1619

Lyu, S. (2025). Advances in Digital Signature Algorithms: Performance, Security and Future Prospects. ITM Web of Conferences, 73, 03010. https://doi.org/10.1051/itmconf/20257303010

Mohammed, Q. A. A. S., Joudah, M., & Mohammed, H. (2024). A survey on digital signature schemes. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 3232, No. 1). AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0236576

National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2023). Digital Signature Standard (DSS) (FIPS PUB 186-5). U.S. Department of Commerce. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.FIPS.186-5

Octora Ginting, F. S., Veithzal Rivai Zainal, & Aziz Hakim. (2023). Digital signature standard implementation strategy by optimizing hash functions through performance optimization. Journal of Accounting and Finance Management, 3(6), 362–371. https://doi.org/10.38035/jafm.v3i6.175

Overmars, A., & Venkatraman, S. (2021). New semi-prime factorization and application in large RSA key attacks. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 1(4), 660-674. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp1040033

Opiłka, F., Niemiec, M., Gagliardi, M., & Kourtis, M. A. (2024). Performance analysis of post-quantum cryptography algorithms for digital signature. Applied Sciences, 14(12), 4994. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14124994

Ozpinar, A., & Serengil, S. I. (2026). Sustainable cryptography: Carbon asymmetry in partially homomorphic encryption in the cloud. Symmetry, 18(5), 832. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18050832

Paar, C., & Pelzl, J. (2010). Understanding cryptography. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04101-3

Penubadi, H. R., Shah, P., Sekhar, R., Alrasheedy, M. N., Niu, Y., Radhi, A. D., Tharwat, M., Tawfeq, J. F., Gheni, H. M., & Abdulbaqi, A. S. (2023). Sustainable electronic document security: A comprehensive framework integrating encryption, digital signature and watermarking algorithms. Heritage and Sustainable Development, 5(2), 391–404. https://doi.org/10.37868/hsd.v4i1.359

Rivest, R. L., Shamir, A., & Adleman, L. (1978). A method for obtaining digital signatures and public-key cryptosystems. Commun. ACM, 21(2), 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1145/359340.359342

Schemitt, A. G., Silva, H. F. da, Lunardi, R. C., Kreutz, D., Mansilha, R. B., & Zorzo, A. F. (2025). Assessing the impact of post-quantum digital signature algorithms on blockchains. In 2025 IEEE 24th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications (TrustCom) (pp. 2373–2380). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/TrustCom66490.2025.00276

Shah, A. M., & Gor, A. (2025). Comprehensive survey of symmetric and public-key cryptographic algorithms: Foundations, attacks, and applications. International Journal Of Informative and Futuristic Research, 12(10), 20–38. Retrieved from: https://ijifr.org/pdfsave/18-06-2025917IJIFR-V12-E10-005.pdf

Shukla, P. K., Aljaedi, A., Pareek, P. K., Alharbi, A. R., & Jamal, S. S. (2022). AES-based white-box cryptography in digital signature verification. Sensors, 22(23), 9444. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22239444

Tanwar, S., & Kumar, A. (2019). An efficient and secure identity based multiple signatures scheme based on RSA. Journal of Discrete Mathematical Sciences and Cryptography, 22(6), 953–971. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720529.2019.1632024

Tesoro, M., Siloi, I., Jaschke, D., Magnifico, G., & Montangero, S. (2024). Quantum inspired factorization up to 100-bit RSA number in polynomial time. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.16355

Tsai, M.-Y., & Cho, H.-H. (2021). A high security symmetric key generation by using genetic algorithm based on a novel similarity model. Mobile Networks and Applications, 26(3), 1386–1396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-021-01753-1

Vidaković, M., & Miličević, K. (2023). Performance and Applicability of Post-Quantum Digital Signature Algorithms in Resource-Constrained Environments. Algorithms, 16(11), 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/a16110518

Xu, J. (2025). A Comprehensive study of digital signatures: Algorithms, challenges and future prospects. ITM Web of Conferences, 73, 03009. https://doi.org/10.1051/itmconf/20257303009

Xu, P., Cumanan, K., Ding, Z., Dai, X., & Leung, K. K. (2016). Group secret key generation in wireless networks: Algorithms and rate optimization. IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, 11(8), 1831–1846. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIFS.2016.2553643