Chapter 2 - A novel crypt-intelligent cryptosystem

Abstract

Computational Intelligence (CI) and its underlying array of techniques have garnered the attention of several researchers to solve arduous real-world problems. These techniques primarily include machine learning, genetic algorithms, and neural networks, among several others. With the advancements in technology, the adversaries are in constant vigil to detect any vulnerability in the cryptosystem and find means to compromise its security. The prevalent CI techniques, both individually or compositely, can be widely applied in cryptology to safeguard the computing device, the communication channel, and the information stored or transmitted on the whole. DNA cryptography is another recent propitious technology that hides the original data in terms of diverse combinations of the four nitrogenous bases that constitute human DNA. The presence of four nitrogenous bases makes DNA cryptosystems eight times more secure than the traditional cryptosystems, which primarily use binary values of either 0 or 1. Hence, the combination of CI and DNA cryptography can have a myriad of applications in information security. This chapter comprehensively studies the existing contributions of CI in information security, emphasizing equally on the cryptography or designing the cryptosystem and the cryptanalysis or decrypting the cryptosystem. It is succeeded by the proposed DNA cryptography–based crypto scheme combined with CI. The overall steps to perform the encryption are discussed, and the usage of DNA techniques makes it eight times safer than its other counterparts. Finally in the end the chapter gives a discussion on the same and final conclusions are drawn.