Secure Image Transmission Research Articles

A novel chirp-based 2D hyperchaotic map for enhanced image encryption

Abstract This paper presents a novel image encryption algorithm based on a newly proposed two-dimensional hyperchaotic map derived from the chirp signal. Performance evaluations of the proposed map include bifurcation analysis, phase portrait visualization, sensitivity to initial conditions, Lyapunov exponent calculations, entropy measurements, and NIST tests. These evaluations confirm the map’s strong randomness and broad chaotic behavior. The proposed encryption algorithm utilizes the high sensitivity to initial conditions and wide chaotic range of the hyperchaotic map to enhance security. The algorithm achieves a high degree of confusion and diffusion through bit-level manipulation, chaotic permutation, and randomized row-column diffusion processes. As a result, it can effectively encrypt images of any size, whether color or grayscale. Comprehensive security evaluations, such as key analysis, histogram analysis, Shannon entropy analysis, correlation analysis, differential analysis, and robustness analysis, confirm the algorithm’s resilience against a wide range of cryptographic attacks. Thus, the proposed algorithm offers a promising solution for secure image transmission.

A Hybrid Approach of Substitution and Permutation techniques for Modern Image-Cryptosystem

Abstract This paper proposes a new image encryption algorithm based on the introduction of cellular automata with Galois field-based methods to further encourage a higher level of security. This begins the encryption process by creating an initial substitution box from the irreducible polynomials in the Galois field, followed by the final substitution box obtained through permutation operations. This lays
the foundation for a sound cryptographic process. In order to handle different cryptographic attack types, balance in the substitution box has been closely analyzed. Additionally, we leverage the chaotic nature of the logistic map to incorporate a random element, significantly strengthening the encryption scheme against diverse cryptanalytic attacks. Nonlinear dynamics, as introduced by cellular automata, further develop the encryption process and disperse the image’s data, making it more intricate for any potential attacker. The differential analysis validates the encryption scheme’s resistance to differential attacks, thereby confirming its potential for secure image transmission and storage. The proposed hybrid approach presents a comprehensive solution for image encryption, ensuring high security and computational efficiency. This contribution is an added advantage in the development of image cryptosystems,
addressing the modern challenges facing secure data within the digital landscape.

Design and FPGA Implementation of a Hyper-Chaotic System for Real-time Secure Image Transmission

Recently, chaos theory has been widely used in multimedia and digital communications due to its unique properties that can enhance security, data compression, and signal processing. It plays a significant role in securing digital images and protecting sensitive visual information from unauthorized access, tampering, and interception. In this regard, chaotic signals are used in image encryption to empower the security; that's because chaotic systems are characterized by their sensitivity to initial conditions, and their unpredictable and seemingly random behavior. In particular, hyper-chaotic systems involve multiple chaotic systems interacting with each other. These systems can introduce more randomness and complexity, leading to stronger encryption techniques. In this paper, Hyper-chaotic Lorenz system is considered to design robust image encryption/ decryption system based on master-slave synchronization. Firstly, the rich dynamic characteristics of this system is studied using analytical and numerical nonlinear analysis tools. Next, the image secure system has been implemented through Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) Zedboard Zynq xc7z020-1clg484 to verify the image encryption/decryption directly on programmable hardware Kit. Numerical simulations, hardware implementation, and cryptanalysis tools are conducted to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed system.

Image encryption algorithm based on matrix projective combination-combination synchronization of an 11-dimensional time delayed hyperchaotic system

Abstract Secure image transmission is critical to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, especially in an era of increasing digital threats. Chaotic systems with their inherent complexity and unpredictability, provide a promising solution for enhancing encryption security. To contribute to this field, we investigate a new 11-dimensional hyperchaotic system by taking advantage of its complex dynamical properties to strengthen security. The high dimensional of the system intensifies chaotic behaviors such as stability, attractors and sensitive to initial conditions, making it particularly suitable for encrypted transmission. Time delay is an important factor to be considered affecting the control and synchronization in nonlinear system. Additionally, time delays include the effects of past states, further increasing the unpredictability of the system. To explore these dynamics, we analyze the Lyapunov exponents, stability of equilibrium points, symmetry and dissipation. A matrix projective combination-combination synchronization scheme is proposed to synchronize four identical 11-dimensional hyperchaotic systems with time delay. Nonlinear active controllers designed based on Lyapunov stability theory are used to achieve this synchronization. This work advances an important idea for encryption and decryption algorithms, which is the secure transmission of images using affine encryption. In the affine encryption algorithm, the key is based on the solution of synchronized chaotic delayed systems and the private message of the sender and receiver. This proposed encryption and decryption algorithms have been applied on plain images. Numerical simulations and security analysis including key space, histogram, information entropy and correlation analysis are conducted to validate the theoretical results and encryption algorithm. Experimental analysis and comparisons with existing literature confirm the effectiveness and security of the proposed approach for cryptographic purposes.

A privacy-preserving license plate encryption scheme based on an improved YOLOv8 image recognition algorithm

With the rapid development of green smart cities, urban intelligence has also brought new challenges, particularly in protecting the privacy information of vehicles within the city. To address this issue, we propose a novel image encryption scheme to ensure the security of image transmission. This method captures vehicle images through roadside surveillance cameras and uses an improved YOLOv8 algorithm to identify sensitive vehicle information in real time, which is then securely transmitted to the city’s traffic management system. To safeguard the data, we employ a combination of the Rabbit Competition scrambling algorithm and a custom diffusion kernel to perform real-time encryption on the identified image regions, protecting privacy-sensitive areas. Experimental results show that our method improves accuracy by 1.53% and average precision by 1.4% on the test set compared to the baseline model, indicating a substantial enhancement in detection accuracy. Additionally, the encryption scheme demonstrates a larger key space, improved robustness, and significantly enhanced anti-attack capabilities, confirming its effectiveness in protecting vehicle information in smart city environments.

OFDM Transmission in Rayleigh Fading Channel for S-Box and 3D Chaotic Maps Based Encrypted Image

Data encryption is an important part of the communication system. The Chaos essential properties, make it a crucial candidate for encryption applications. There is a compromise between complexity and security in previous studies. In this study, high security was achieved with low complexity. This paper proposed a 3D chaotic map and S-Box has been cascaded to get a high efficiency as complex algorithms or multi-iteration schemes. The first stage is ciphering using 3D cat-map, the second stage is S-box based on 3D henon map, while the third stage is another ciphering stage using 3D henon map. In this study, various encryption techniques, including cipher algorithms and substitution box, are combined with the OFDM system to establish a secure image transmission over a Rayleigh fading channel. QPSK modulation is used to ensure the simplicity of the proposed system. Six gray images are used, Lena, the cameraman, Barbara, Baboon, pepper and Elaine for testing and comparing with previous works. Security analysis is performed to evaluate the quality and security of the encryption process, the entropy value reach 7.99, correlation coefficient is around zero and the histogram is uniform. In addition, the key size is 2630. For image transmission evaluation, the PSNR and BER are utilized and it reached 10-5 for BER. According to the statistical results, the proposed image encryption scheme is secure and efficient.

Block-based color image encryption algorithm by a novel memristor chaotic system and new RNA computation

The security of images is closely related to the protection of information privacy. We proposed a novel 5D memory resistive chaotic system (5D-MRCS), which exhibits good chaotic characteristics. Therefore, we employed it to design an image encryption algorithm aimed at ensuring secure image transmission. To further enhance the complexity of the algorithm and obtain more chaotic sequences, we combine the 5D-MRCS with the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model and use this combination in algorithm design. Initially, we combine the plain image with the hash function SHA-384 to devise and generate the secret key. Subsequently, the algorithm determines whether to pad the plain image based on different block size requirements. Then, we use multiple chaotic sequences generated by the 5D-MRCS and HH model to perform the global image permutation operation. Our designed permutation algorithm includes two parts: Block-based permutation and a new pixel-level permutation. Next, the scrambled image undergoes block-based random RNA diffusion, incorporating two newly proposed methods in the RNA operations, ultimately resulting in the ciphertext image. The algorithm’s NPCR, UACI, information entropy, and other security performance metrics are very close to the ideal values, and it possess characteristics such as resistance to differential, cutting, chosen plaintext, and noise attacks. Compared with other algorithms, it still has some advantages across multiple images and demonstrates excellent image encryption performance.

Integrating Deep Learning and Homomorphic Encryption for Secure Image Transmission

This paper introduces a novel approach to securing medical image transmission through the integration of deep learning techniques into cryptographic processes. Leveraging the capabilities of Backpropagation (BP), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Residual Networks (ResNet), and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), our method aims to enhance the privacy and security of medical images in real-time applications like telemedicine. The proposed system focuses on optimizing performance metrics including Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), Mean Average Precision (MAP), and encryption speed. Through experimental evaluation, our approach demonstrates promising results in terms of encryption efficiency and preservation of image quality. By addressing the critical need for secure transmission methods in healthcare, this research contributes to advancing the field of medical image cryptography and lays the groundwork for further exploration in deep learning-based security solutions for healthcare data.

An image encryption scheme based on an improved memristive neuron chaotic system

With fast-developing Internet and communication, the security transmission of image in network has become a research highlight. So far, researchers have designed a lot of image encryption methods based on chaotic models, some of them are not secure enough. To enhance security of image transmission on the network, in this paper, an image encryption method is developed from a 3D memeristive FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) neuron. First, a 3D memeristive FHN model is obtained by connecting a memeristor into a 2D FHN model, and dynamics for 3D FHN model are estimated by applying phase diagrams, bifurcation and Lyapunov exponent. Then, an image encryption algorithm is proposed by using this 3D model. Finally, security of encryption algorithm is estimated. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of encryption scheme.

A lossless probabilistic image encryption algorithm based on QSD decomposition and matrix transformations

With the development of Internet technology, images have become widely used in people's daily life. However, some images carry significant importance and sensitivity, making the security and protection of digital information more crucial. Standard encryption schemes such as RSA, DES, and AES, which have proven effective for textual data, face limitations when applied to images due to their unique features, such as large data capacity and strong pixel correlation. In recent years, numerous effective image encryption schemes utilizing diverse techniques have been proposed. However, the use of integer decomposition in encryption techniques is still underexplored. This paper introduces a novel, lossless, and probabilistic image encryption scheme designed to enhance the security of sensitive images during transmission and storage. This scheme is based on a new integer decomposition technique and utilizes a key with a very large key space. In the proposed approach, an image is encrypted into a pair of images using quasi-square decomposition and new matrix transformations. Security is further reinforced through the use of orthogonal matrices, which enhance diffusion while ensuring data integrity and preservation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is highly secure against most known attacks and cryptanalysis methods. Additionally, a comparison with various existing image encryption techniques shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach. This research provides a significant contribution by introducing new techniques that leverage integer decomposition, which are highly effective against CPA (Chosen Plaintext Attack) and KPA (Known-Plaintext Attack). Moreover, these techniques enhance the entropy value of encrypted images and improve the values of NPCR and UACI, which help prevent differential attacks. The proposed scheme has the potential to advance applications in secure image transmission, storage, and privacy protection.

A Comprehensive Review on Image Encryption Techniques using Memristor based Chaotic System for Multimedia Application

Image encryption is one of the most widely used techniques for securing images in trusted and unrestricted public media. However, the drawback is weak security in chaotic encryption algorithms, small key space and hardware implementation complexities. Various appropriate encryption algorithms have been carried out for secure image transmission; it becomes a critical issue to protect image integrity, confidentiality and authenticity. To overcome these issues, this article examines several existing memristor-based image encryption algorithms with various chaotic maps. As a result, this research aims to deliver comprehensive literature on image encryption techniques through memristor to help the researchers. Finally, this survey provides all vital literature on the current image encryption techniques with their benefits, drawbacks, developments, and future directions. We also give a general guideline about cryptography. We conclude that all methods are helpful for real-time image encryption. A comparison has been made between many image processing approaches (conventional and memristor) based on metrics such as the number of pixels change rate (NPCR) with the value of 0.9986, histogram, entropy (7.9993), unified average varying intensity (UACI) achieves the value as 0.4996, energy consumption as 0.32pJ and time complexity as 0.9s. The experimental results of various approaches, key sensitivity and statistical analysis revealed that the survey of memristor-based image encryption schemes provides an effective way to secure image transmission in real-time application.

Image encryption algorithm based on a memcapacitor‐based hyperchaotic system and DNA coding

AbstractIn today's digitally connected world, the protection of privacy and data security in open communication media (OCM) is paramount. As digital devices become more widespread and increase in global connectivity, the significance of image encryption has reached unprecedented levels. Traditional encryption techniques often fall short when applied to images due to their unique properties such as high correlation and large data quantities. To address these challenges, this paper presents a novel image encryption method that integrates principles from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) rules, the logistic map, and a hyperchaotic model with memcapacitors. The intricate and unpredictable nature of the memcapacitor‐based hyperchaotic system, coupled with deficiencies in current image encryption algorithms, serves as a catalyst for the development of this new algorithm. The proposed encryption strategy leverages the encoding properties of DNA and the complex dynamics of hyperchaotic systems to achieve enhanced image encryption. Through simulations and evaluations using reference images, the effectiveness of the method is demonstrated. It surpasses current techniques in terms of statistical robustness, resistance to brute‐force attacks, and protection against differential attacks. The research concludes that combining DNA principles, logistic maps, and memcapacitor‐based hyperchaotic systems significantly improves image encryption. This approach enhances data security for image transmission in open communication channels, addressing the limitations of traditional encryption techniques. As digital connectivity expands globally, the demand for robust image encryption is expected to increase, making this research pivotal in establishing standards for future advancements in image encryption algorithms.

Temper wolf hunt optimization enabled GAN for robust image encryption

In today’s digital era, the security of sensitive data, particularly in the realm of multimedia, is of paramount importance. Image encryption serves as a vital shield against unauthorized access and ensures the confidentiality and integrity of visual information. As such, the continuous pursuit of robust and efficient encryption techniques remains a pressing concern. This research introduces a Temper Wolf Hunt Optimization enabled Generative Adversarial Network Encryption model (TWHO-GAN), designed to address the challenges of image encryption in the modern digital landscape. TWHO, inspired by the collective hunting behavior of wolf and coyote packs, is employed to generate highly secure encryption keys. This algorithm excels in exploring complex solution spaces, creating robust, attack-resistant keys. In TWHO-GAN model, GANs are employed to create encrypted images that are virtually indistinguishable from their original counterparts, adding a layer of security by generating complex encryption keys and ensuring robust protection against attacks. The GAN component reconstructs the encrypted images to their original form when decrypted with the correct keys, ensuring data integrity while maintaining confidentiality. Further, the significance of the proposed model relies on the TWHO algorithm formulated by the integration of the adaptability and coordinated hunting strategies to optimize the chaotic map generation in image encryption protecting the sensitive visual information from unauthorized access as well as potential threats. Through extensive experimentation and comparative analysis, TWHO-GAN demonstrates superior performance in image encryption, surpassing former methods in terms of Cs, 𝐻𝑖𝑠C, MSE, PSNR, RMSE, and SSIM attaining values of 0.93, 94.19, 3.274, 59.70 dB, 1.8095, and 0.940 respectively for 5 numbers of images. Moreover, the TWHO-GAN approach attained the values of 0.91,92.22, 2.03, 49.74 dB, 1.42, and 0.88 for Cs, HisC, MSE, PSNR, RMSE, and SSIM respectively utilizing the Airplanes dataset. The model exhibits robust resistance to various attacks, making it a compelling choice for secure image transmission and storage.

Application of the DCT Algorithm to Protect Image Files with Key Symbols

Image file protection is an important aspect in managing and transmitting visual data in today's digital era. One effective method for protecting images is to use the Discrete Cosine Transformation (DCT) algorithm based on the principle of randomization with key symbols. This research aims to describe the application of the DCT algorithm in the context of image protection using key symbols as a security method. This research includes the main stages, namely randomization of the original image using predetermined key symbols, transformation of the image to the DCT domain, and storage of the scrambled image. By scrambling the image using key symbols known only to authorized parties, the original image can be changed significantly so that it is difficult to reconstruct by unauthorized parties. In addition, the results of this DCT transformation can also be encrypted using a strong cryptographic algorithm, thereby increasing the security level of image protection. The research results show that this method is effective in protecting image files from unauthorized access and unwanted surveillance. The final result of implementing the DCT algorithm with this key symbol is an image that is protected with a high level of security and can be restored correctly by authorized parties using the appropriate key symbol. This research has broad potential application in a variety of contexts, including data security, confidential image storage, and secure image transmission over communications networks. Thus, this method can make a positive contribution in overcoming information security challenges in an increasingly complex digital era.

Transmission of quantum-secured images

The secure transmission of an image can be accomplished by encoding the image information, securely communicating this information, and subsequently reconstructing the image. Alternatively, here we show how the image itself can be directly transmitted while ensuring that the presence of any eavesdropper is revealed in a way akin to quantum key distribution (QKD). We achieve this transmission using a photon-pair source with the deliberate addition of a thermal light source as background noise. One photon of the pair illuminates the object, which is masked from an eavesdropper by adding indistinguishable thermal photons, the other photon of the pair acts as a time reference with which the intended recipient can preferentially filter the image carrying photons from the background. These reference photons are themselves made sensitive to the presence of an eavesdropper by traditional polarisation-based QKD encoding. Interestingly the security verification is performed in the two-dimensional polarisation-basis, but the image information is encoded in a much higher-dimensional, hence information-rich, pixel basis. In our example implementation, our image comprises of 152 independent pixels. Beyond the secure transmission of images, our approach to the distribution of secure high-dimensional information may offer new high-bandwidth approaches to QKD.

Correction to: W-VDSR: wavelet-based secure image transmission using machine learning VDSR neural network

Correction to: W-VDSR: wavelet-based secure image transmission using machine learning VDSR neural network

Aligning security and energy-efficiency using change detection and partial encryption for wireless camera networks

Wireless camera networks (WCNs) have seen widespread deployment in recent years, leading to an upsurge in monitoring and surveillance systems aimed at detecting foreign objects and changes within remote environments. However, wireless communication remains susceptible to cybersecurity threats, enabling eavesdroppers to access and manipulate confidential multimedia data effortlessly. Moreover, wireless cameras are low-power devices, encounter challenges as many state-of-the-art schemes adopt intricate security mechanisms, resulting in elevated costs, latency, and power consumption. This significantly compromises the stability of the node power and network lifetime and limits the applicability of security schemes in real-time implementations. This study addresses these issues by presenting DyimEnc, a dynamic image encryption scheme, to establish secure image transmission within wireless camera networks. The proposed scheme dynamically implements a security, complexity, and power consumption trade-off based on the currently available resources in each camera node. In the DyimEnc scheme, an effective in-node change-detection method is used to detect changes in the captured images and reduce the false transmission of images across the network. Additionally, a dynamic lightweight partial-encryption method is proposed to encrypt the edge maps of sensitive images that include changes. Moreover, a flexible key-management method is proposed for image encryption and transmission. Simulation results underscore DyimEnc's substantial impact, revealing significant reductions in power consumption, encryption cost, and transmission latency. It effectively achieves an average throughput of 254.9 KB/s and a remarkable 48 % decrease in network power consumption, showcasing a substantial 59 % improvement compared to a related study. Security analysis proved the robustness of our scheme in resisting attacks and satisfying the security requirements of WCNs.

Hide Digital Images in Encrypted Image Files After Two Stages

This paper introduces a novel encryption technique for concealing digital images within encrypted files through a two-stage process. The methodology incorporates sparse coding and compressive sensing, leveraging a learned dictionary to recover the sparse coding of plain images. Comprising compressive sampling and random projection with a Gaussian measurement matrix, the approach achieves joint compression and encryption. Pseudorandom encryption and chaos-based block scrambling are subsequently applied to produce the final encrypted image. Experimental results using 256 × 256 test photographs from the USC-SIPI dataset demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in terms of both Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM). The study also conducts key sensitivity analysis, revealing the method's susceptibility to changes in the secret key, and statistical attack analysis, demonstrating its robustness against attacks exploiting statistical information. In conclusion, the proposed encryption technique not only ensures cryptographic strength but also excels in image reconstruction quality, making it a promising solution for secure image transmission and storage

A Secure Image Cryptographic Algorithm Based on Triple Incorporated Ciphering Stages

Lately, image encryption has stand out as a highly urgent demand to provide high security for digital images against use and unauthorized distribution. A lot of existing researches use chaotic systems, symmetric or asymmetric schemes for image encryption, but cryptosystem based on one encryption technique only, faces many challenges like weak security and low complexity. Therefore, incorporating two or more different ciphering methods yields a secure and efficient algorithm to protect image information. In this work, a new image cryptosystem is suggested by joining zigzag scan technique, RSA algorithm and chaotic systems. These three security factors introduce Triple Incorporated Ciphering stages system (TIC). Initially, the plaintext image is divided into $8\times 8$ non-overlapping blocks, then the odd blocks are isolated from the even blocks. After that, a new modified zigzag scan in two different directions is adopted for shuffling pixels in the odd and even blocks. This operation effectively enhances the shuffling degree. Next, the RSA algorithm is utilized after combining the scrambled blocks in one matrix. Finally, chaotic systems are implemented on the resultant encrypted matrix to complete the ciphering process. The chaos is implemented in two steps; confusion and diffusion. Duffing map is exploited in the confusion stage, whereas L"u system is adopted on the shuffled matrix in the diffusion stage. The simulation results show the superiority of TIC in both security and attacks robustness compared to other cryptographic algorithms. Therefore, TIC can be exploited in real-time communication systems for secure image transmission.

Dynamic feedback bit-level image privacy protection based on chaos and information hiding

Bit is the most basic unit of a digital image in the spatial domain, and bit-level encryption is regarded as an important technical means for digital image privacy protection. To address the vulnerability of image privacy protection to cryptographic attacks, in this paper, a bit-level image privacy protection scheme using Zigzag and chain-diffusion is proposed. The scheme uses a combination of Zigzag interleaving scrambling with chaotic sequences and chain-diffusion method images are encrypted at each bit level, while using non-sequential encryption to achieve efficient and secure encryption. To balance security and efficiency, the encryption strategy for each bit layer is weighted. The chaos-based sequences used for encryption depend on the previous hash value, thus the effect of chain-diffusion is achieved. To further enhance the encryption effect, a non-sequential encryption technique by non-linearly rearranging the bit cipher image is employed, so that the attacker cannot crack the protection scheme by analyzing the encrypted image. The ciphertext image hidden by discrete wavelet transform (DWT) also provides efficient encryption, higher level of security and robustness to attacks. This technology provides indistinguishable secret data embedding, making it difficult for attackers to detect or extract hidden information. Experimental results show that this scheme can effectively protect the confidentiality of the image and can resist various common cryptographic attacks. The scheme proposed in this paper is a preferred digital image privacy protection technology, so it has broad application prospects in image secure transmission occasions.