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Science and Engineering Research Centre. Institute of simulation Sciences. Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering
Abstract
This thesis studies the application of deterministic chaos to digital
cryptography. Cryptographic systems such as pseudo-random generators
(PRNG), block ciphers and hash functions are regarded as a dynamic
system (X, j), where X is a state space (Le. message space)
and f : X -+ X is an iterated function. In both chaos theory and
cryptography, the object of study is a dynamic system that performs
an iterative nonlinear transformation of information in an apparently
unpredictable but deterministic manner. In terms of chaos theory, the
sensitivity to the initial conditions together with the mixing property
ensures cryptographic confusion (statistical independence) and diffusion
(uniform propagation of plaintext and key randomness into cihertext).
This synergetic relationship between the properties of chaotic and
cryptographic systems is considered at both the theoretical and practical
levels: The theoretical background upon which this relationship is
based, includes discussions on chaos, ergodicity, complexity, randomness,
unpredictability and entropy.
Two approaches to the finite-state implementation of chaotic systems
(Le. pseudo-chaos) are considered: (i) floating-point approximation of
continuous-state chaos; (ii) binary pseudo-chaos. An overview is given
of chaotic systems underpinning cryptographic algorithms along with
their strengths and weaknesses. Though all conventional cryposystems
are considered binary pseudo-chaos, neither chaos, nor pseudo-chaos are
sufficient to guarantee cryptographic strength and security.
A dynamic system is said to have an analytical solution Xn = (xo)
if any trajectory point Xn can be computed directly from the initial
conditions Xo, without performing n iterations. A chaotic system with an
analytical solution may have a unpredictable multi-valued map Xn+l =
f(xn). Their floating-point approximation is studied in the context of
pseudo-random generators.
A cryptographic software system E-Larm ™ implementing a multistream
pseudo-chaotic generator is described. Several pseudo-chaotic
systems including the logistic map, sine map, tangent- and logarithm feedback
maps, sawteeth and tent maps are evaluated by means of floating point
computations. Two types of partitioning are used to extract
pseudo-random from the floating-point state variable: (i) combining the
last significant bits of the floating-point number (for nonlinear maps);
and (ii) threshold partitioning (for piecewise linear maps). Multi-round
iterations are produced to decrease the bit dependence and increase non-linearity.
Relationships between pseudo-chaotic systems are introduced
to avoid short cycles (each system influences periodically the states of
other systems used in the encryption session).
An evaluation of cryptographic properties of E-Larm is given using
graphical plots such as state distributions, phase-space portraits, spectral
density Fourier transform, approximated entropy (APEN), cycle length
histogram, as well as a variety of statistical tests from the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) suite. Though E-Larm passes
all tests recommended by NIST, an approach based on the floating-point
approximation of chaos is inefficient in terms of the quality/performance
ratio (compared with existing PRNG algorithms). Also no solution is
known to control short cycles.
In conclusion, the role of chaos theory in cryptography is identified;
disadvantages of floating-point pseudo-chaos are emphasized although
binary pseudo-chaos is considered useful for cryptographic applications.Durand Technology Limite
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