A fast and secure stream cipher based on cellular automata over GF(q)

The problem of designing a family of pseudorandom number generators for cryptographic applications, called key stream generators, is considered for word-oriented CPU platforms. A novel key stream generator, together with a new application of linear cellular automata over GF(q), is proposed. Construction of the generator is based on the use of previously published results on cellular automata theory and its applications in cryptography, as well as on core principles employed in a number of existing key stream generators. Analysis indicates that the proposed generator satisfies standard minimal security requirements including a large period and good statistical properties, and that it is secure against all known attacks. An important feature of the proposed generator is that it, is compact and suitable for high speed applications.