Application of a MEMS-Based TRNG in a Chaotic Stream Cipher

Area of Science:

• Cryptography and Information Security
• Hardware Security
• Applied Physics

Background:

• Stream ciphers are crucial for secure real-time data encryption.
• Existing chaotic stream ciphers face challenges in speed and resource efficiency.
• True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) are vital for generating unpredictable cryptographic keys.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel hybrid stream cipher for high-speed encryption.
• To integrate a sensor-based True Random Number Generator (TRNG) for robust key generation.
• To assess the performance and security of the proposed stream cipher on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Main Methods:

• A hybrid algorithm combining Skew Tent Map and Linear Feedback Shift Register was designed.
• A sensor-based True Random Number Generator (TRNG) was employed for key stream generation.
• The stream cipher was implemented and tested on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform.

Main Results:

• The FPGA implementation achieved an 8-bit data stream width at a 134 MHz clock frequency.
• The generated data streams demonstrated sufficient speed for Gigabit Ethernet applications.
• Exhaustive cryptanalysis confirmed the security of the proposed stream cipher.

Conclusions:

• The developed chaotic stream cipher offers a secure and high-performance solution for modern communication systems.
• The integration of a sensor-based TRNG enhances the key generation security.
• The system provides a competitive alternative to existing chaotic stream ciphers in terms of performance and resource utilization.