Attack-Resistant Chaotic Communication System in Non-ideal Physical Channel

Coherent chaos-based communication is a developing technique for secure data transmission based onsynchronization of chaotic oscillators at the transmitter and receiver sides, which is treated as a more securemethod than non-coherent communication, chaotic symbolic dynamics, and other approaches. Nowadays,digital implementation of such systems allows high precision in parameter matching and sophisticated messagerecovery algorithms, though challenges remain: first, in adapting chaotic signals for non-ideal physical media,e.g., acoustic channels with frequency-dependent attenuation and noise, while, second, still providing the highlevel of security. The current study provides the implementation of a coherent chaotic communication systembased on the Sprott Case S chaotic oscillator that meets these challenges. We utilize the modulation technique,minimizing changes in chaotic dynamics that may be captured by an intruder, propose an optimization ofchaotic oscillator parameters to match channel characteristics and establish a signal normalization procedureto neutralize attenuation at the receiver side. Applying spectral and return map attacks, we show that themeasures taken to counteract distortion in the path do not reduce the security of the transmission. In anexperiment with a physical acoustic path, we demonstrate the practical operability of our approach.