Modelling nonlinear sequence generators in terms of linear cellular automata

In this work, a wide family of LFSR-based sequence generators, the so-called clock-controlled shrinking generators (CCSGs), has been analyzed and identified with a subset of linear cellular automata (CA). In fact, a pair of linear models describing the behavior of the CCSGs can be derived. The algorithm that converts a given CCSG into a CA-based linear model is very simple and can be applied to CCSGs in a range of practical interest. The linearity of these cellular models can be advantageously used in two different ways: (a) for the analysis and/or cryptanalysis of the CCSGs and (b) for the reconstruction of the output sequence obtained from this kind of generators.