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Securing Hybrid Financial Architectures: A Lightweight Encryption Protocol for Offline-First Mobile Transactions
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Cybersecurity & Offline-First Mobile Architecture
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1718182
Abstract
Moving toward offline-first mobile applications has completely flipped the script on financial software security. When software operates in regions with highly erratic internet connectivity—such as rural self-help groups and microfinance organizations—the application must rely heavily on local device memory as the primary ledger. While this architectural design guarantees constant availability, it creates critical vulnerabilities regarding unencrypted data storage and physical device compromise. This research evaluates a dualtiered security architecture integrated into the React Nativebased "Bharat Bachat" platform. To mitigate local storage risks, the study proposes utilizing AES-128 encryption via SQLCipher. This specific cipher was deliberately chosen over AES-256 to drastically reduce processing overhead and preserve battery life on budget-tier rural smartphones. Additionally, the framework counters network manipulation during asynchronous batch synchronization by employing Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC-SHA256) for strict payload signing. By comparing this protocol against standard plaintext SQLite configurations, we observe substantial improvements in data integrity and security posture without incurring prohibitive performance penalties. Ultimately, this demonstrates that enterprise-level cryptographic measures can be successfully adapted for offline-first, resource-constrained financial environments.
References
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How to cite this paper
@article{1718182,
author = {Sanket Sanjay Dhamne, Dr. R. S. Bansode},
title = {Securing Hybrid Financial Architectures: A Lightweight Encryption Protocol for Offline-First Mobile Transactions},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {11},
pages = {3890-3895},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1718182.pdf},
abstract = {Moving toward offline-first mobile applications has completely flipped the script on financial software security. When software operates in regions with highly erratic internet connectivity—such as rural self-help groups and microfinance organizations—the application must rely heavily on local device memory as the primary ledger. While this architectural design guarantees constant availability, it creates critical vulnerabilities regarding unencrypted data storage and physical device compromise. This research evaluates a dualtiered security architecture integrated into the React Nativebased "Bharat Bachat" platform. To mitigate local storage risks, the study proposes utilizing AES-128 encryption via SQLCipher. This specific cipher was deliberately chosen over AES-256 to drastically reduce processing overhead and preserve battery life on budget-tier rural smartphones. Additionally, the framework counters network manipulation during asynchronous batch synchronization by employing Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC-SHA256) for strict payload signing. By comparing this protocol against standard plaintext SQLite configurations, we observe substantial improvements in data integrity and security posture without incurring prohibitive performance penalties. Ultimately, this demonstrates that enterprise-level cryptographic measures can be successfully adapted for offline-first, resource-constrained financial environments.},
month = {May},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1718182}
}