An equivalence preserving transformation from the Fibonacci to the Galois NLFSRs

Abstract: Conventional Non-Linear Feedback Shift Registers (NLFSRs) use the Fibonacci configuration in which the value of the first bit is updated according to some non-linear feedback function of previous values of other bits, and each remaining bit repeats the value of its previous bit. We show how to transform the feedback function of a Fibonacci NLFSR into several smaller feedback functions of individual bits. Such a transformation reduces the propagation time, thus increasing the speed of pseudo-random sequence generation. The practical significance of the presented technique is that is makes possible increasing the keystream generation speed of any Fibonacci NLFSR-based stream cipher with no penalty in area.