## 5 Conclusions and Future Works
For the larger network dynamic, the OpenFlow discovery method would be more suitable, which may lead to added complexity. * Limited Cryptanalysis: Although the cryptanalysis performed to evaluate the strength of the encryption algorithm was sufficient to draw a preliminary conclusion on strength, the complete conclusive statement can only be provided after considering the encryption algorithms against the APTs and quantum attacks. * Optimization of Load and Network Parameters: The optimization of load distribution and network parameters, such as bandwidth, was not performed, and the observation of the performance of the SDN environment was performed on default settings. * Application to Real-World SDN: This study is focused on analyzing the performance, strength, and efficiency of an encryption mechanism, using a controlled environment of Mininet for the emulation process to mimic the real-world SDN. The real-world application would introduce constraints including hardware limitations, heterogeneous device compatibility, network congestion, and unpredictable traffic patterns. * More Detailed Comparative Study: Although the current study includes the encryption strength's test against the standalone algorithm, there is still a need for a proper benchmark algorithm analysis of network performance under the same network con ditions. Furthermore, the extension needs to include comparisons with other data protection mechanisms. * Exploration with Approaches for Improvements in Network Parameters: The current study scope is focused on the deployment of encryption as a policy. Therefore, the issues with network parameters, such as delay, throughput, and jitter underperforming, which require different approaches to be combined with existing methods, have not been explored. This shall be a major concern of our future work, together with the security issues. To address its current limitations, future work will focus on the following tasks:
* Implementation of the GA-based hybrid encryption in a large network in a real SDN environment involving a multi-controller setup. * Exploration of a lightweight GA for encryption policy implementation in networks involving IOT devices. * Adaptive encryption strategies for sensitive and non-sensitive packets utilizing a traffic-based load balancing mechanism in a multi-controller setup. * Integrate post-quantum cryptographic techniques to improve resilience against quantum attacks. * Exploration of utilizing GPU-accelerated parallel processing to reduce encryption and decryption latency. * Extend security evaluation to include resistance against APTs and evolving attack models. * Development of an intelligent SDN-based load balancing mechanism to optimize encryption workload distribution by distributing computationally intensive tasks across available resources. * Conduct explorations to fine-tune SDN parameters such as bandwidth allocation and congestion control to enhance network efficiency. * Performance evaluation against the traditional standalone and hybrid algorithms over the SDN network. * Conduct a detail evaluation of the strength and performance of the proposed mechanism against other data protection methods. * Integration of different strategies for enhancing network performance in high-load and high-data-transmitting network settings. In conclusion, this research not only advanced the state-of-the-art in SDN security but also highlighted the trade-offs between security and performance that require optimization to address latency-related issues. The study opened up new avenues for further exploration with future research, aiming to enhance the scheme's capabilities to real-time applications or latency-critical applications. Conceptualization, C.P., R.G., B.R.D. and P.M.; methodology, C.P., R.G. and B.R.D. ; simulation, C.P. ; validation, R.G., B.R.D. and P.M.; formal analysis, C.P. and R.G. ; investigation, B.R.D. and P.M.; resources, B.R.D. and P.M.; data curation, C.P. and R.G. ; writing--original draft preparation, C.P., R.G. and B.R.D. ; writing--review and editing, B.R.D.