Cryptanalyzing chaotic secure communications using return maps

In chaotic secure communications, message signals are scrambled by chaotic dynamical systems. The interaction between the message signals and the chaotic systems results in changes of different kinds of return maps. In this paper, we use return map based methods to unmask some chaotic secure communication systems; namely, chaotic shift keying (chaotic switching), chaotic parameter modulation and non-autonomous chaotic modulation. These methods are used without knowing the accurate knowledge of chaotic transmitters and without reconstructing the dynamics or identifying the parameters of chaotic transmitters. These methods also provide a criterion of deciding whether a chaotic secure communication scheme is secure or not. The effects of message signals on the changes of different return maps are studied. Fuzzy membership functions are used to characterize different kinds of changes of return maps. Fuzzy logic rules are used to extract message signals from the transmitted signal. The computer experimental results are provided. The results in this paper show that the security of chaotic secure communication not only depends on the complexity of the chaotic system but also depends on the way the message is scrambled. A more complex chaotic system is not necessary to provide a higher degree of security if the transmitted signal has simple and concentrated return maps. We also provide examples to show that a chaotic system with complicated return maps can achieve a higher degree of security to the attacks presented in this paper. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.