Cryptography with Dynamical Systems

Dynamical systems are often described as “unpredictable” or “complex” as aspects of their behavior may bear a cryptic relationship with the simple evolution laws which define them. Some theorists work to quantify this complexity in various ways. Others try to turn the cryptic nature of dynamical systems to a practical end: encryption of messages to preserve their secrecy. Here some previous efforts to engineer cryptosystems based on dynamical systems are reviewed, leading up to a detailed proposal for a cellular automaton cryptosystem.