Chaos-based cryptography: end of the road?

Abstract

Chaos-based cryptography emerged in the early 1990s as an innovative application of nonlinear dynamics in the chaotic regime. Even if in theory chaotic dynamics was thought to evolve into a new revolution in cryptography, in real-life an efficient and reliable chaos-based cryptosystem didn't emerge. The main but not the only reason is the dynamic degradation of digital chaotic systems, a subject that became very popular in the last few years. This paper presents a new theoretical background related to this issue that proves the inefficiency of chaos-based encryption algorithms. Even more, in one of the two relevant case studies presented, another myth is demolished: the analog encryption base on synchronized chaos.