Chaos-based Cryptography: A Brief Look into An Alternate Approach to Data Security

Abstract

The present scale of computing inevitably demanded increased level of data security, which is the concern of cryptography. Security of the cipher depends on the strength of the key and the algorithm used to generate the keys. Many modern cryptographic algorithms are based on Number Theory, but in recent years an alternative approach has been studied which is based on Chaos Theory. Many properties of chaotic systems such as nonlinearity, randomness, and sensitivity to initial conditions bear resemblance to those required by cryptography such as diffusion and confusion. Implementations of chaos-based cryptosystems have been proposed by other researchers and yet the strength of these systems from a cryptographic point of view has not been thoroughly considered. This paper discusses the appeal of chaos-based cryptography, some of the researches already done, and the challenges that this approach faces to be established as a fully secure method for data security.