Alexan Wassim, Shabasy Noura H El, Ehab Noha, Maher Engy Aly
Communications Department, Faculty of Information Engineering and Technology, German University in Cairo (GUC), New Cairo, Egypt.
Mathematics Department, Faculty of Basic Sciences, German University in Cairo (GUC), New Cairo, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 25;15(1):31246. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-15794-z.
The exponential growth of digital imagery and the widespread adoption of automation and IoT technologies have heightened the need for robust image encryption techniques. Traditional encryption methods such as AES and DES, though effective for textual data, struggle with the high redundancy of images and real-time processing constraints. To address these challenges, this article proposes a novel multi-image encryption scheme integrating a 5D hyperchaotic system, Arnold's Cat Map, and Langton's Ant to achieve high security, efficiency, and resistance to attacks. The encryption process consists of four stages: (1) key generation using a 5D hyperchaotic system, (2) byte substitution using a newly designed S-box, (3) pixel scrambling via Langton's Ant-based diffusion, and (4) transformation using Arnold's Cat Map. The proposed method achieves a high key space of [Formula: see text], low correlation between encrypted pixels, and fast encryption times of 0.1602s for a [Formula: see text] image, making it suitable for real-time applications. Comprehensive security analyses, including histogram analysis, correlation coefficient evaluation, entropy measurement, differential attack resistance (NPCR and UACI), and NIST randomness tests, confirm the robustness of the encryption scheme. The results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing chaotic and hybrid encryption techniques in terms of security, efficiency, and resistance to cryptographic attacks.
数字图像的指数级增长以及自动化和物联网技术的广泛应用，使得对强大的图像加密技术的需求日益增加。传统的加密方法，如AES和DES，虽然对文本数据有效，但在处理图像的高冗余性和实时处理限制方面存在困难。为了应对这些挑战，本文提出了一种新颖的多图像加密方案，该方案集成了5D超混沌系统、阿诺德猫映射和兰顿蚂蚁，以实现高安全性、高效性和抗攻击性。加密过程包括四个阶段：(1) 使用5D超混沌系统生成密钥；(2) 使用新设计的S盒进行字节替换；(3) 通过基于兰顿蚂蚁的扩散进行像素置乱；(4) 使用阿诺德猫映射进行变换。所提出的方法实现了高达[公式：见原文]的密钥空间，加密像素之间的低相关性，以及对于[公式：见原文]图像0.1602秒的快速加密时间，使其适用于实时应用。全面的安全性分析，包括直方图分析、相关系数评估、熵测量、抗差分攻击（NPCR和UACI）以及NIST随机性测试，证实了加密方案的鲁棒性。结果表明，所提出的方法在安全性、效率和抗密码攻击方面优于现有的混沌和混合加密技术。
