Discrete chaos theory for secure key generation in lightweight IoT encryption

In today’s interconnected world, ensuring the security of lightweight Internet of Things (IoT) devices has become a significant challenge due to their limited computational capabilities and growing vulnerability to sophisticated cryptographic attacks. While chaos theory has been extensively explored for enhancing cryptographic systems, most implementations rely on continuous chaos models, which are often computationally intensive and unsuitable for resource-constrained devices. This paper presents an innovative approach to key generation using discrete chaos theory, particularly discrete logistic maps. Unlike traditional methods, discrete chaos offers a lightweight, mathematically efficient solution without compromising on key unpredictability and security. By leveraging the unique properties of discrete chaos such as sensitivity to initial conditions and strong non-linearity our method generates cryptographic keys that are highly secure and integrate seamlessly with existing encryption protocols. Through extensive experimentation, we validated the robustness and effectiveness of our approach. The results demonstrate superior randomness and enhanced resistance to cryptographic attacks, all while maintaining minimal computational overhead, making it ideal for IoT applications. This research opens new doors for scalable and secure cryptographic systems tailored for the unique needs of IoT devices, addressing a critical gap in the current landscape of lightweight encryption technologies.