  In recent years, a great amount of secure communications systems based on
chaotic synchronization have been published. Most of the proposed schemes fail
to explain a number of features of fundamental importance to all cryptosystems,
such as key definition, characterization, and generation. As a consequence, the
proposed ciphers are difficult to realize in practice with a reasonable degree
of security. Likewise, they are seldom accompanied by a security analysis.
Thus, it is hard for the reader to have a hint about their security. In this
work we provide a set of guidelines that every new cryptosystems would benefit
from adhering to. The proposed guidelines address these two main gaps, i.e.,
correct key management and security analysis, to help new cryptosystems be
presented in a more rigorous cryptographic way. Also some recommendations are
offered regarding some practical aspects of communications, such as channel
noise, limited bandwith, and attenuation.
