Recent Trends in Image Encryption: A Review

Security of multimedia data is gaining acceptance owing to the growth and acceptability of images in various applications and in telecommunication. Encryption is one of the ways to ensure high security of images as they are used in many fields such as in secure medical imaging services, military intelligence, internet and intranet communication, e-banking etc. These images are stored or transmitted through a network; hence the security of such image data is important. In this work, recently developed encryption techniques are studied and analyzed to promote further development of more encryption methods to ensure additional security and versatility. All the techniques reviewed came into existence within the last five years (2011-2015) and are found to be useful for the present day encryption applications. Each technique is unique in its own way, which might be suitable for different applications. As time goes on, new encryption techniques are evolving. Hence, fast and secure conventional encryption techniques will always be needed in applications requiring high rate of security

A novel conservative chaos driven dynamic DNA coding for image encryption

In this paper, we propose a novel conservative chaotic standard map-driven dynamic DNA coding (encoding, addition, subtraction and decoding) for the image encryption. The proposed image encryption algorithm is a dynamic DNA coding algorithm i.e., for the encryption of each pixel different rules for encoding, addition/subtraction, decoding etc. are randomly selected based on the pseudorandom sequences generated with the help of the conservative chaotic standard map. We propose a novel way to generate pseudo-random sequences through the conservative chaotic standard map and also test them rigorously through the most stringent test suite of pseudo-randomness, the NIST test suite, before using them in the proposed image encryption algorithm. Our image encryption algorithm incorporates a unique feed-forward and feedback mechanisms to generate and modify the dynamic one-time pixels that are further used for the encryption of each pixel of the plain image, therefore, bringing in the desired sensitivity on plaintext as well as ciphertext. All the controlling pseudorandom sequences used in the algorithm are generated for a different value of the parameter (part of the secret key) with inter-dependency through the iterates of the chaotic map (in the generation process) and therefore possess extreme key sensitivity too. The performance and security analysis has been executed extensively through histogram analysis, correlation analysis, information entropy analysis, DNA sequence-based analysis, perceptual quality analysis, key sensitivity analysis, plaintext sensitivity analysis, etc., The results are promising and prove the robustness of the algorithm against various common cryptanalytic attacks.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures, 15 table

Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits

Symmetry can play an important role in the field of nonlinear systems and especially in the design of nonlinear circuits that produce chaos. Therefore, this Special Issue, titled “Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits”, presents the latest scientific advances in nonlinear chaotic systems and circuits that introduce various kinds of symmetries. Applications of chaotic systems and circuits with symmetries, or with a deliberate lack of symmetry, are also presented in this Special Issue. The volume contains 14 published papers from authors around the world. This reflects the high impact of this Special Issue

Multi-algorithmic Cryptography using Deterministic Chaos with Applications to Mobile Communications

In this extended paper, we present an overview of the principal issues associated with cryptography, providing historically significant examples for illustrative purposes as part of a short tutorial for readers that are not familiar with the subject matter. This is used to introduce the role that nonlinear dynamics and chaos play in the design of encryption engines which utilize different types of Iteration Function Systems (IFS). The design of such encryption engines requires that they conform to the principles associated with diffusion and confusion for generating ciphers that are of a maximum entropy type. For this reason, the role of confusion and diffusion in cryptography is discussed giving a design guide to the construction of ciphers that are based on the use of IFS. We then present the background and operating framework associated with a new product - CrypsticTM - which is based on the application of multi-algorithmic IFS to design encryption engines mounted on a USB memory stick using both disinformation and obfuscation to ‘hide’ a forensically inert application. The protocols and procedures associated with the use of this product are also briefly discussed

Entropy in Image Analysis II

Image analysis is a fundamental task for any application where extracting information from images is required. The analysis requires highly sophisticated numerical and analytical methods, particularly for those applications in medicine, security, and other fields where the results of the processing consist of data of vital importance. This fact is evident from all the articles composing the Special Issue "Entropy in Image Analysis II", in which the authors used widely tested methods to verify their results. In the process of reading the present volume, the reader will appreciate the richness of their methods and applications, in particular for medical imaging and image security, and a remarkable cross-fertilization among the proposed research areas

Lightweight image encryption algorithms: design and evaluation

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Computer ScienceArslan MunirIn an era dominated by increasing use of multimedia data such as images and videos, ensuring the security and confidentiality of images with real-time encryption is of greatest importance. Traditional encryption algorithms are secure, widely used, and recommended, yet they are not suitable nor computationally efficient for encrypting multimedia data due to the large size and high redundancy inherent in multimedia data. Thus, specialized algorithms for multimedia data encryption are needed. This dissertation explores lightweight image encryption algorithms, specifically designed to address time and resource constraints of realtime image encryption while maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the multimedia data. The dissertation classifies image encryption based on the techniques used into seven different approaches and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. It subsequently introduces and evaluates three novel algorithms designed to encrypt images with low complexity, high efficiency, and reliable security. These algorithms rely on a combination of permutation, substitution, and pseudorandom keystreams to ensure the security of the encrypted images. The first algorithm is based on chaotic systems. The algorithm is implemented using logistic map, permutations, AES S-box, and a plaintext related SHA-2 hash. The second algorithm is based on Trivium cipher. the algorithm is implemented to work on multi-rounds of encryption using pixel-based row and column permutations, and bit-level substitution. For the third algorithm, the Ascon algorithm selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to standardize lightweight cryptography applications is evaluated for image encryption. To evaluate the proposed algorithms, a comprehensive set of security, quality, and efficiency valuation metrics is utilized to assess the proposed algorithms and compare them to contemporary image encryption algorithms

Image watermarking, steganography, and morphological processing

With the fast development of computer technology, research in the fields of multimedia security, image processing, and robot vision have recently become popular. Image watermarking, steganogrphic system, morphological processing and shortest path planning are important subjects among them. In this dissertation, the fundamental techniques are reviewed first followed by the presentation of novel algorithms and theorems for these three subjects. The research on multimedia security consists of two parts, image watermarking and steganographic system. In image watermarking, several algorithms are developed to achieve different goals as shown below. In order to embed more watermarks and to minimize distortion of watermarked images, a novel watermarking technique using combinational spatial and frequency domains is presented. In order to correct rounding errors, a novel technique based on the genetic algorithm (GA) is developed. By separating medical images into Region of Interest (ROI) and non-ROI parts, higher compression rates can be achieved where the ROI is compressed by lossless compression and the non-ROI by lossy compression. The GA-based watermarking technique can also be considered as a fundamental platform for other fragile watermarking techniques. In order to simplify the selection and integrate different watermarking techniques, a novel adjusted-purpose digital watermarking is developed. In order to enlarge the capacity of robust watermarking, a novel robust high-capacity watermarking is developed. In steganographic system, a novel steganographic algorithm is developed by using GA to break the inspection of steganalytic system. In morphological processing, the GA-based techniques are developed to decompose arbitrary shapes of big binary structuring elements and arbitrary values of big grayscale structuring elements into small ones. The decomposition is suited for a parallel-pipelined architecture. The techniques can speed up the morphological processing and allow full freedom for users to design any type and any size of binary and grayscale structuring elements. In applications such as shortest path planning, a novel method is first presented to obtaining Euclidean distance transformation (EDT) in just two scans of image. The shortest path can be extracted based on distance maps by tracking minimum values. In order to record the motion path, a new chain-code representation is developed to allow forward and backward movements. By placing the smooth turning-angle constraint, it is possible to mimic realistic motions of cars. By using dynamically rotational morphology, it is not only guarantee collision-free in the shortest path, but also reduce time complexity dramatically. As soon as the distance map of a destination and collision-free codes have been established off-line, shortest paths of cars given any starting location toward the destination can be promptly obtained on-line

Entropy in Dynamic Systems

In order to measure and quantify the complex behavior of real-world systems, either novel mathematical approaches or modifications of classical ones are required to precisely predict, monitor, and control complicated chaotic and stochastic processes. Though the term of entropy comes from Greek and emphasizes its analogy to energy, today, it has wandered to different branches of pure and applied sciences and is understood in a rather rough way, with emphasis placed on the transition from regular to chaotic states, stochastic and deterministic disorder, and uniform and non-uniform distribution or decay of diversity. This collection of papers addresses the notion of entropy in a very broad sense. The presented manuscripts follow from different branches of mathematical/physical sciences, natural/social sciences, and engineering-oriented sciences with emphasis placed on the complexity of dynamical systems. Topics like timing chaos and spatiotemporal chaos, bifurcation, synchronization and anti-synchronization, stability, lumped mass and continuous mechanical systems modeling, novel nonlinear phenomena, and resonances are discussed

A Novel Real-Time, Lightweight Chaotic-Encryption Scheme for Next-Generation Audio-Visual Hearing Aids

Next-generation audio-visual (AV) hearing aids stand as a major enabler to realize more intelligible audio. However, high data rate, low latency, low computational complexity, and privacy are some of the major bottlenecks to the successful deployment of such advanced hearing aids. To address these challenges, we propose an integration of 5G Cloud-Radio Access Network (C-RAN), Internet of Things (IoT), and strong privacy algorithms to fully benefit from the possibilities these technologies have to offer. Existing audio-only hearing aids are known to perform poorly in noisy situations where overwhelming noise is present. Current devices make the signal more audible but remain deficient in restoring intelligibility. Thus, there is a need for hearing aids that can selectively amplify the attended talker or filter out acoustic clutter. The proposed 5G IoT-enabled AV hearing-aid framework transmits the encrypted compressed AV information and receives encrypted enhanced reconstructed speech in real time to address cybersecurity attacks such as location privacy and eavesdropping. For security implementation, a real-time lightweight AV encryption is proposed, based on a piece-wise linear chaotic map (PWLSM), Chebyshev map, and a secure hash and S-Box algorithm. For speech enhancement, the received secure AV (including lip-reading) information in the cloud is used to filter noisy audio using both deep learning and analytical acoustic modelling. To offload the computational complexity and real-time optimization issues, the framework runs deep learning and big data optimization processes in the background, on the cloud. The effectiveness and security of the proposed 5G-IoT-enabled AV hearing-aid framework are extensively evaluated using widely known security metrics. Our newly reported, deep learning-driven lip-reading approach for speech enhancement is evaluated under four different dynamic real-world scenarios (cafe, street, public transport, pedestrian area) using benchmark Grid and ChiME3 corpora. Comparative critical analysis in terms of both speech enhancement and AV encryption demonstrates the potential of the envisioned technology to deliver high-quality speech reconstruction and secure mobile AV hearing aid communication. We believe our proposed 5G IoT enabled AV hearing aid framework is an effective and feasible solution and represents a step change in the development of next-generation multimodal digital hearing aids. The ongoing and future work includes more extensive evaluation and comparison with benchmark lightweight encryption algorithms and hardware prototype implementation