Cellular automata-based structures to compute the solutions of linear difference equations

Abstract

A cellular automata-based linear model that computes all the solutions of linear binary difference equations has been developed. Such a model is based on successive concatenations of a basic linear automaton. Different sequential solutions are obtained from different automaton initial states. Many of these solutions are binary sequences of cryptographic utility. In this way, a linear structure based on cellular automata realizes not only difference equation solutions but also generates sequences currently used in cryptography. The model is simple, linear and can be applied in a range of practical cryptographic applications. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.