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Article
Secure image encryption algorithm using chaos-
based block permutation and weighted bit planes
chain diffusion

Heping Wen,
Yiting Lin,
Shenghao Kang,
Xiangyu Zhang,
Kun Zou

[email protected]

Highlights
The proposed encryption
algorithm can effectively
resist the chosen-plaintext
attack

Bit level is used as the basic

unit of image encryption to
ensure higher level of
security

Chaos-based dynamic
block permutation
achieves good confusion
with low complexity

The receiver can decrypt

the message without
transmitting additional
plaintext related keys

Wen et al., iScience 27, 108610

January 19, 2024 ª 2023 The
Author(s).
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Article
Secure image encryption algorithm
using chaos-based block permutation
and weighted bit planes chain diffusion
Heping Wen,1,2,4,5,* Yiting Lin,1,2 Shenghao Kang,1 Xiangyu Zhang,1,4 and Kun Zou1,3

SUMMARY
Aiming at the problem of insufficient security of image encryption technology, a secure image encryption
algorithm using chaos-based block permutation and weighted bit planes chain diffusion is proposed,
which is based on a variant structure of classical permutation-diffusion. During the permutation phase,
the encryption operations of dividing an image into sub-block, block scrambling, block rotation and block
inversion, negative-positive transformation, color component shuffling are performed sequentially with
chaotic sequences of plaintext association. In the chain diffusion stage, different encryption strategies
are adopted for the high and low 4-bit planes according to the weight of image information. Theoretical
analyses and empirical results substantiate that the algorithm conforms to the cryptographic require-
ments of confusion, diffusion, and avalanche effects, while possessing excellent numerical statistical prop-
erties with a large cryptographic space. Therefore, the cryptanalysis-propelled security enhancement
mechanism proposed in this paper effectively amplifies the aptitude of the algorithm to withstand cryp-
tographic attacks.

INTRODUCTION
Today, a variety of emerging information technologies are developing by leaps and bounds. As individuals revel in the dividends of
information technologies, latent security concerns are progressively unveiled. The exploration of reliable and efficient security algo-
rithms is gaining significance in the big data environment.1–3 In the era of big data, the secure transmission of digital images has
emerged as a pivotal concern, garnering substantial academic attention. Ensuring that these images remain confidential during
transmission, safeguarding against theft or leakage has become a prominent research focus.4–6 However, due to the distinctiveness
of digital images,7–9 such as high correlation of adjacent pixel points, scattering distribution of critical information, and high infor-
mation redundancy, cryptographic protection using traditional text encryption algorithms struggles to meet real-time performance
requirements. Furthermore, chaos itself exhibits inherent qualities10–13 such as high sensitivity to initial conditions and control param-
eters, excellent pseudo-randomness, ergodicity, and long-term unpredictability of orbits, and it has many similarities with confusion,
diffusion, and so on in cryptography.14–17 Hence, in the context of the big data era, it is crucial to explore the image encryption
algorithm that is firmly rooted in chaos theory.18–21
Throughout the international research status,22–25 exploration of chaotic image encryption algorithms26–29 has been going through more
than 20 years. In as early as 1998, Fridrich30 firstly reported the use of chaotic system to encrypt digital images. In recent years, numerous
scholars have dedicated their efforts to this field, leading to significant progress and enrichment in the theory and methods of chaotic image
encryption.31–33 Various new mechanisms and methods are introduced into chaotic image encryption to enhance the security of the algorithm
and elevate the performance of secure transmission. Zheng et al.34 in 2022 outlined an image encryption technique that uses cascaded
chaotic maps and an extended zigzag transform. The simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm provides fast encryption, high secu-
rity, and effective protection to withstand a broad spectrum of attacks. In 2023, Jiang et al.35 introduced an image encryption algorithm based
on a two-dimensional Chebyshev logistic infinite collapse map. The results provide a solid foundation and practical solutions for chaos gen-
eration and image encryption.36–39 These achievements mean that many encryption algorithms have shown satisfactory results in several
areas,40–43 which have significantly advanced the field of information security technology.44–47 However, as society develops, the exponential
growth of information poses significant challenges to previous algorithms.48–51 The limitations of these algorithms become increasingly
prominent.52–55

1University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan 528402, China
2School of Information and Communication Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
3School of Computer Science and Engineering (School of Cyber Security), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
4School of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
5Lead contact

*Correspondence: [email protected]
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Most previous algorithms perform operations at the pixel level, and the granularity of their encryption units is coarse. To meet this chal-
lenge, there has been significant interest in chaotic image encryption methods employing bit plane decomposition56–58 in recent years.
Numerous encryption algorithms based on bit planes have been proposed, garnering widespread attention. Bit planes decomposition is
an algorithm that divides a digital image by bit to obtain eight subgraphs and encrypts each of these subgraphs independently. Although
some progress has been made in chaotic image encryption research, the designed algorithms still have certain limitations due to the existing
defects in bit encryption. In 2019, Shafique et al.59 introduced an encryption algorithm that incorporates binary bit plane extraction and mul-
tiple chaotic maps. The system comprises two parts, bit-level permutation of the high 4-bit planes and bitwise XOR diffusion. They presented
several security analyses and experimental simulations demonstrating the system’s ability to withstand various attacks. However, the study
found that the diffusion and permutation components could be separately attacked using a divide-and-conquer approach, highlighting their
inherent vulnerabilities.60 In 2020, a novel image encryption algorithm leveraging DNA coding and spatiotemporal chaos was unveiled.61 The
algorithm involves a sequential implementation of pixel diffusion, DNA encoding, DNA base permutation, and DNA decoding to create a
cipher image from a plaintext image. However, this algorithm ultimately represents a fusion of fixed DNA base permutation and bit comple-
ment. Consequently, the algorithm can be compromised by chosen-plaintext attacks and chosen-ciphertext attacks. From a security perspec-
tive, existing bit-level chaotic encryption algorithms need further improvement, mainly because 1) the present algorithms are susceptible to
chosen-plaintext attacks or chosen-ciphertext attacks as the key employed for generating chaotic sequences lacks correlation with the orig-
inal image; 2) the granularity of encryption units of existing algorithms is coarse; 3) existing bit planes decomposition algorithms do not
consider the correlation between each sliced plane after decomposition.
This paper presents a secure image encryption algorithm that utilizes chaos-based block permutation and weighted bit planes chain diffu-
sion. The proposed algorithm is based on a variant structure of classical permutation-diffusion, which first performs a block permutation
based on chaotic sequences yet executes a bit-level chain diffusion. During the permutation phase, the encryption operations of dividing
an image into sub-block, block scrambling, block rotation and block inversion, negative-positive transformation, color component shuffling
are performed sequentially based on the chaotic sequences of plaintext association. In the bit-level diffusion stage, the high and low 4-bit
planes are encrypted according to the information weight contained in the image. A chain-substitution-diffusion encryption with bit-by-bit
planes is adopted for the high 4-bit planes, followed by a lightweight encryption for the low 4-bit planes. Among them, the intermediate
ciphertext association mechanism is used in all the diffusion encryption processes. Thus, the algorithm possesses the prowess to fend off
both known-plaintext attack and chosen-plaintext attack due to the closed-loop feedback of plaintext and ciphertext. The primary contribu-
tions and innovations of this study are delineated as follows.

a. The existing image encryption algorithms are not structured rationally enough, which leads to their insufficient security against plain-
text-type attacks. For this reason, this color image encryption algorithm proposes a plaintext and intermediate ciphertext association
mechanism and also adopts chain diffusion to effectively enhance the resistance to cryptographic attacks.
b. Pixel-level image encryption is so coarse in granularity that it is not secure enough, and traditional bit-level encryption is too complex to
meet the efficiency requirements. To cope with these challenges, this paper proposes a new strategy. We adopt an elastic processing
unit in the weighted bit plane, which effectively balances the tension between security and efficiency.
c. Different from the traditional permutation methods, this paper designs a new block permutation based on several algebraic opera-
tions. Since each module adopted in the permutation is all low-complexity units that are easily implemented by computers, they
have good confusion characteristics. The experimental results also effectively support the feasibility of the block permutation method
in this paper.
d. In image encryption using plaintext correlation, extra channels must be communicated to transmit the feature values of the plaintext. In
contrast, we embed the feature values associated with the plaintext and the intermediate ciphertext into the cipher image, and the
receiver can achieve normal decryption without additional key exchange, which ensures the usability in practical applications.

The remaining sections of this paper are organized as follows. Section Related theory briefly outlines the relevant theory behind the pro-
posed algorithm. Section Proposed encryption algorithm explains the precise details of our encryption algorithm. Section Experimental re-
sults and analysis discussion presents experimental results and analysis discussion. The final section concludes the study.

Related theory
The used chaotic system
2D logistic-sine-coupling map. The chaos62 utilized in this research is sourced from two established one-dimensional chaotic maps,
namely the logistic map and the sine map. By coupling the logistic map and the sine map, we can acquire a new chaotic map of considerable
complexity, namely the 2D-LSCM, which can be determined as follows:


ai+1 = sinðpð4qai ð1  ai Þ + ð1  qÞsinðpbi ÞÞÞ
(Equation 1)
bi+1 = sinðpð4qbi ð1  bi Þ + ð1  qÞsinðpai+1 ÞÞÞ
where q ˛ ½0; 1 is the control parameter. As the definition suggests, the 2D-LSCM is generated by coupling the logistic and sine maps; the
results are further subjected to sine transformation and expanding from one dimension to two. Through this process, the intricacies of the
logistic map and the sine map are intertwined, resulting in a complex chaotic behavior.

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Table 1. The test results for NIST-800-22

p values
Statistical Sequence1 Sequence2 Results
Frequency (Monobit) Test 0.534146 0.739918 successful
Block-frenquency test 0.739918 0.350485 successful
Cumulative-sums test 0.000954 0.122325 successful
Runs test 0.911413 0.739918 successful
Longest-run test 0.350485 0.911413 successful
Binary matrix rank test 0.534146 0.534146 successful
Discrete Fourier transform test 0.534146 0.534146 successful
Non-overlapping templates test 0.000439 0.008879 successful
Overlapping templates test 0.017912 0.122325 successful
Maurer’s universal statistical test 0.035174 0.534146 successful
Approximate entropy test 0.534146 0.991468 successful
Random-excursions test(x = 4) 0.022503 0.048716 successful
Random-excursions variant test(x = 9) 0.022503 0.122325 successful
Serial test-1 0.911413 0.739918 successful
Serial test-2 0.066882 0.213309 successful
Linear-complexity test 0.739918 0.911413 successful

NIST test results of chaos. A collection of 16 unique test sets is provided by the NIST-800-22 test suite, with the aim of assessing binary
sequences generated by cryptographic or pseudo-random number generators that depend on random values and lengths. Notably, all se-
quences intended for encryption have passed this test correctly, and some of the results are presented in the Table 1.

0-1 Test results of chaos. The 0–1 Gottwald Melbourne test is a tool that calculates parameters very close to 0 or 1 to accurately distinguish
between regular and chaotic motion. Our team used the 0–1 Gottwald Melbourne test to obtain 10,000 results, which reflect the average value
of 0.9979, exhibiting the remarkable performance of the chaotic system. The test results are illustrated in the following Figure 1.

Bit planes decomposition

A digital image is created by converting an analog image into a digital format, where the pixels serve as the basic element that can be stored
and processed by a digital computer or circuit. In computing, a bit is a unit of information and the smallest unit of measurement for bits and
information within a binary number. The range of pixel values in an image is ½20  1; 28  1. Bit plane decomposition involves converting the
pixel values of a digital image into binary form and then dividing the binary representation into eight-bit planes. Taking a digital image P as an
example, the bit planes decomposition can be expressed as

X
8
P = 2k 1 Pk = P1 + 2P2 + 22 P3 + 23 P4 + 24 P5 + 25 P6 + 26 P7 + 27 P8 (Equation 2)
k= 1

where Pk denotes the k  th bit plane, k = ½1; 2; 3; .; 8, Pði; jÞ ˛ Z256 , Pk ði; jÞ ˛ Z2 ; P8 denotes the highest bit planes, and P1 denotes the
lowests bit planes. Taking the grayscale image of ‘‘Lena’’ as an example, the bit planes decomposition diagram is shown in Figure 2.

Block permutation
Standard scrambling algorithms, which simply rearrange the pixel positions within the primitive image, can be easily deciphered and are sus-
ceptible to chosen-plaintext attacks. To address this problem, this paper introduces a new scrambling algorithm that uses chaotic sequences
based on the plaintext feedback mechanism, as shown in Figure 3. Firstly, the image feature values are extracted as chaotic keys to generate
an initial pseudo-random sequence. Then, the original image and initial chaotic sequence are preprocessed. Finally, different encryption rules
can be selected according to the preprocessed sequences, and the generated cipher images can be obtained by block scrambling, block
rotation and block inversion, negative-positive transformation, and color component shuffling. The empirical data demonstrate that the per-
mutation mechanism proposed in this manuscript significantly enhances the algorithm’s resilience against attacks.

Proposed encryption algorithm

The proposed encryption algorithm is specified based on the following four sections: the first part, key generation and initial value scrambling;
the second part, an explanation of the user-defined ‘‘chain function’’; the third part, the process of image encryption; and the fourth part, the

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Figure 1. 0–1 Gottwald Melbourne test

image decryption process. In this paper, assuming an original image P is input, the process of encrypting into a cipher image C consists of
three modules. First, the original image is block permuted. Next, a random order substitution is executed on the permuted image. Finally, the
resulting intermediate cipher image is layered according to Equation 2, after which the final cipher image can be obtained. The overall block
diagram illustrating the flow of the encryption algorithm is depicted Figure 4.

Key generation and initial value scrambling

This algorithm utilizes the MD5 hash function to establish the correspondence between plaintext and ciphertext. The hash function’s one-way
property and anti-collision feature substantially enhance the algorithm’s capability to withstand attacks from chosen-plaintext attacks and
known-plaintext attacks.
Step 1: read image feature values
After reading the image features by MD5 function, we can get a 32-bit hexadecimal number with fixed bit length, and each bit is repre-
sented as hðxÞ ˛ f0; 1; 2; .; 14; 15g, where x = ½1; 2; 3; .; 31; 32.
Step 2: disturb the initial value
After obtaining the eigenvalues, the initial value of the chaotic map is perturbed. This allows different images to correspond to different
key sequences and improves their resistance to differential attacks. The specific procedure is defined as
8
>
> key1 = hð1Þ4hð5Þ4hð9Þ4hð13Þ4hð17Þ4hð21Þ4hð25Þ4hð29Þ + 0:1 ðaÞ
<
key2 = hð2Þ4hð6Þ4hð10Þ4hð14Þ4hð18Þ4hð22Þ4hð26Þ4hð30Þ + 0:1 ðbÞ
(Equation 3)
>
> key3 = hð3Þ4hð7Þ4hð11Þ4hð15Þ4hð31Þ4hð23Þ4hð27Þ4hð31Þ + 0:1 ðcÞ
:
key4 = hð4Þ4hð8Þ4hð12Þ4hð16Þ4hð20Þ4hð24Þ4hð28Þ4hð32Þ + 0:1 ðdÞ
where 4 denotes the XOR operator; key1 ; key2 ; key3 ; key4 denote the scrambled keys.

Chain function
Chain encryption function. For ease of description, we define the details of the operation for each plane as a self-named function C =
Chain encryptðP;keyÞ, where P represents the plain image, key denotes the initial value utilized to generate the chaotic sequence for encrypt-
ing the image plane, and C denotes the cipher image. The function contains two parts: sequence preprocessing and permutation-diffusion
encryption. Take the example of encrypting an image with size H3W as described below:
Step 1: preprocess chaotic sequence
For the chain encryption module, a total of two chaotic sequences are required. Key is introduced into the 2D-LSCM chaotic system, and
the initial chaotic sequences R1 and R2 are obtained after iterating H3W times. The corresponding sorted indexes indexH and indexW can be
described as


½S1 ; indexH = sortðR1 Þ
(Equation 4)
½S2 ; indexW  = sortðR2 Þ
where sortð $Þ function represents the sorting of each sequence value in the input sequence from lowest to highest, S1 and S2 indicate the
result of reordering the sequences, and indexH and indexW indicate sorted indexes.
Step 2: permutation and diffusion encryption

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High 4-bit planes

Bit Planes
Plaintext Decomposition
Rules

Low 4-bit planes

Figure 2. Information ratio of pixels occupied by 8-bit planes

By sequence indexH and indexW, performing row-column permutation on the layered images to be encrypted results in permuted image
C1 . Then it is bit-level diffused to secure the cipher image C. The operation is shown as


C1 ðm; nÞ = PðindexHðmÞ; indexW ðnÞÞ
(Equation 5)
Cðm; nÞ = C1 ðm; nÞ4Rðm; nÞ
where m = ½1; 2; .; H and n = ½1; 2; .; W.

Chain decryption function. For the convenience of a detailed exposition on the decryption process in subsequent sections, the
definition of the chain decryption function P = Chain decryptðC; keyÞ will be given, where P denotes the recovered image,

Figure 3. Block permutation flowchart

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Figure 4. Diagram depicting the procedural flow of the proposed encryption algorithm

C denotes the image that is waiting to be decrypted, and key denotes the initial key to generate the desired chaotic sequences.
After putting the key into the chaotic system, it iterates H3W times to obtain two chaotic sequences R10 and R20 . Substituted into
the Equation 4, the sorted index sequence indexH0 ðmÞ and indexW 0 ðnÞ can be obtained, respectively. The decryption process is
shown in Equation 6.


C1 ðm; nÞ = Cðm; nÞ4R 0 ðm; nÞ
(Equation 6)
PðindexH0 ðmÞ; indexW 0 ðnÞÞ = C1 ðm; nÞ

Encryption process
In this section, an original image P of size H3W will be used as an example to illustrate the encryption process. The first encryption is a block
permutation operation after chunking the original image. In this article, we choose to divide the image into small blocks with a length of 8, and
the process is as follows.
Step 1: preprocess image and sequence
Initially, the plaintext image P is divided into segments and transformed into a matrix format, ensuring that the matrix dimensions are
multiples of 8 for both rows and columns. If there are not enough elements in the matrix, the zeroes are filled. Then, the hash eigen-
values of the image P are read and key1 ; key2 ; key3 ; key4 are obtained as chaotic initial values according to Equation 3. The four initial
values are iterated by the 2D-LSCM system to obtain four pseudo-random sequences S1 ;S2 ;S3 ;S4 . And they are preprocessed according
to the Equation 7 to obtain sequences S10 ; S20 ; S30 ; S40 that can be used for block scrambling operation. The pretreatment Equation 7 is
described as
8     
>
> S10 = S1 3 1010 mod ðH 3 W Þ 82
>
>
>
>   
>
< S20 = S2 3 1010 mod 6
   (Equation 7)
>
> S30 = S3 3 1010 mod 2
>
>
>
>
: S 0 = S4 3 1010 mod 6
>
4

where P: $R indicates rounding down, and modð $Þ represents modulo operation.

Step 2: block scrambling
The specific diagram of block scrambling is shown in Figure 5. The operation of block scrambling is as follows:

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Figure 5. Diagram illustrating block scrambling

8
>
> t = Pðx; y; z; iÞ
<  
Pðx; y; z; iÞ = P x; y; z; S10 ðiÞ (Equation 8)
>
>
:  
B x; y; z; S10 ðiÞ = t
where x = ½1; 2;.;H, y = ½1; 2;.;W, i = ½1; 2;.;H 3 W =82 , z signifies the dimension of the matrix, t indicates the intermediate variable,
and B represents the matrix after block scrambling.
Step 3: block rotation and block inversion
Based on the sequence S20 , block rotation and block inversion are performed on the data in the sub-block. Taking the matrix after block
scrambling encryption as an example, the matrix after inverse encryption is obtained by using the method constructed in Algorithm 1, and the
schematic of block rotation and inversion is shown in Figure 6.
Step 4: negative-positive transformation
S3 after the operation of taking modulo 2, the obtained S30 has two values of 0 or 1, and their respective corresponding operations are
shown as
(
Bðx; y; z; i; jÞ = 255 Bðx; y; z; i; jÞ if S30 = 0
(Equation 9)
Bðx; y; z; i; jÞ = Bðx; y; z; i; jÞ if S30 = 1

B represents the matrix after block rotation and block inversion.

Step 5: color component shuffling
Based on the sequence S40 , the corresponding RGB color transformation is applied to the processed matrix using Algorithm 2. The specific
color component shuffling schematic is shown in Figure 7.
The matrix after block encryption is merged to get block permutated image BCðBlockCipherÞ.
Next, it will be subjected to a random order substitution operation.
Step 6: random order substitution
The key1 and key2 are substituted into the chaotic system iteration to obtain the sequences S and S 0 . The index matrix I is achieved by
arranging the sequence S 0 . Random order substitution of cipher images is carried out using index matrix I with sequence S. The random order
substitution can be explained as follows:
8 j k
>
< BCI + BCIH;W ;W + 232 3 SIi;j ;j mod 256
i;j ;j
for i = 1;j = 1
j k
QIi;j ;j = BCIi;j ;j + BCIi 1;W ;W + 232 3 SIi;j ;j mod 256 for i = 2 W ; j = 1 (Equation 10)
>
: BC + BC j k
Ii;j 1 ;j 1 + 2 3 SIi;j ;j for i = 1 W ; j = 2 W
32
Ii;j ;j mod 256

After obtaining image Q, it will be subjected to bit-layered and chained encryption.

Step 7: bit planes decomposition

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Algorithm 1. Block rotation and block inversion

Input: pseudo-random sequence S20 , intermediate ciphertext CI, block side length Bsl, image length H, and image width W:
Output: block rotation and block inversion encrypt ciphertext CI
1: for x)1 to H=Bsl do
2: for y)1 to W=Bsl do
3: for a)1 to Bsl=2 do
4: for b)1 to Bsl=2 do
5: if S20 = 1 then
6: swapðCIða; b; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  b; a; :; x; yÞÞ;
7: swapðCIðBsl + 1  b; a; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
8: swapðCIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞ; CIðb; Bsl + 1  a; :; x; yÞÞ;
9: else if S20 = 2 then
10: swapðCIða; b; :; x; y; CIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
11: swapðCIða; b + Bsl=2; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl=2 + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
12: else if S20 = 3 then
13: swapðCIða; b; :; x; yÞ; CIðb; Bsl + 1  a; :; x; yÞÞ;
14: swapðCIðb; Bsl + 1  a; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
15: swapðCIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  b; a; :; x; yÞÞ;
16: else if S20 = 4 then
17: swapðCIða; b; :; x; yÞ; CIða; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
18: swapðCIðBsl=2 + a; b; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl=2 + a; Bsl + 1  b; :; x; yÞÞ;
19: else if S20 = 5 then
20: swapðCIða; b; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  a; b; :; x; yÞÞ;
21: swapðCIða; Bsl=2 + b; :; x; yÞ; CIðBsl + 1  a; Bsl=2 + b; :; x; yÞÞ;
22: end if
23: end for
24: end for
25: end for
26: end for

After reading the image Q and splitting it according to the three channels, three grayscale images QR , QG , and QB are obtained, which are
bit planes decomposition, respectively. It can be expressed as
8
< QRk = bitgetðQR ; kÞ
Q = bitgetðQG ; kÞ (Equation 11)
: Gk
QBk = bitgetðQB ; kÞ
where function bitgetðA; bitÞ denotes the bit value at position k in A is returned, QRk , QGk , and QBk denote the images obtained by layering
QR , QG , and QB , and k denotes the k  th bit plane, k = ½1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8.

Figure 6. Schematic diagram of block rotation and block inversion

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Algorithm 2. Color component shuffling

Input: pseudo-random sequence S40 , intermediate cipher image CI, block side length Bsl, image block length H, and image block width W
Output: block permutated image BC
1: for a)1 to H=Bsl do
2: for b)1 to W=Bsl do
3: if S40 = 1 then
4: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
5: else if S40 = 2 then
6: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
7: else if S40 = 3 then
8: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
9: else if S40 = 4 then
10: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
11: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
12: else if S40 = 5 then
13: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
14: BC = swapðCIð:; :; 2; a; bÞ; CIð:; :; 3; a; bÞÞ;
15: end if
16: end for
17: end for

Taking R channel as an example, the other two channels are the same. Specifically, the obtained 8 layered images are QR1 ;QR2 ;QR3 ;QR4 ;
QR5 ; QR6 ; QR7 ; QR8 .
Step 8: hide original image feature values in the first bit plane
In order to facilitate the decryption operation by the recipient, the hash value of the original image needs to be stored in the first line of
layered image QR1 . It is worth noting that, as shown by the analysis in Section Bit planes decomposition, the first layer of the bit plane contains
very little information. Taking a 256 3 256 size image as an example, the proportion of the feature value in the original image is only
0.000586%. Even if the decrypted image is enlarged, it is difficult to observe the difference with the naked eye.
Step 9: encrypt QR5 with key1

CR5 = Chain encryptðQR5 ; key1 Þ (Equation 12)

Step 10: chain encrypt QR6 ; QR7 ; QR8

After the fifth layer cipher image CR5 is obtained, the hash eigenvalue is read and substituted into the Equation 3 (a), and the chaotic initial
value key5 used to encrypt the next layer is obtained. The encryption of the sixth layer bit plane is given below:

CR6 = Chain encryptðQR6 ; key5 Þ (Equation 13)

The encryption method for the images QR7 ; QR8 is the same as earlier and can be expressed by the Equation 14.


CR7 = Chain encryptðQR7 ; key6 Þ
(Equation 14)
CR8 = Chain encryptðQR8 ; key7 Þ

Figure 7. Schematic diagram of color component shuffling

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Figure 8. The flow chart of decryption

Step 11: chain encrypt QR1 ; QR2 ; QR3 ; QR4

For the low-order bit plane, only a small amount of image information is contained, so the same chaotic sequence will be used to encrypt
the four layers of QR1 ;QR2 ;QR3 ;QR4 . Similarly, after reading the eigenvalues of CR8 and performing the processing as in Equation 3 (a), the key8
is obtained, and the encryption of these four layers can be expressed as
8
>
> CR1 = Chain encryptðQR1 ; key8 Þ
<
CR2 = Chain encryptðQR2 ; key8 Þ
(Equation 15)
>
> C = Chain encryptðQR3 ; key8 Þ
: R3
CR4 = Chain encryptðQR4 ; key8 Þ

Step 12: compound bit planes

The encrypted images CR1 ; CR2 ; CR3 ; CR4 ; CR5 ; CR6 ; CR7 ; CR8 are planes compounded as

X
8
CR = 2i 1 CRi = 20 CR1 + 21 CR2 + 22 CR3 + 23 CR4 + 24 CR5 + 25 CR6 + 26 CR7 + 27 CR8 (Equation 16)
i= 1

where CR denotes the final cipher image of the R channel after reduction.
Similarly, we can get the cipher image CG ; CB after the chain encryption of G channel and B channel, and the resulting cipher image C is
obtained after the reduction of three channels.

Decryption process
Decryption is the reverse process of encryption. The flow chart of decryption is shown in Figure 8. For simplicity, a brief description of the
decryption process is as follows.
Step 1: bit planes decomposition
After dividing the cipher image C into RGB three channels, we get CR ;CG ;CB . Take the R channel as an example; the remaining two chan-
nels are the same. According to Equation 11, 8-bit planes CR1 ; CR2 ; CR3 ; CR4 ; CR5 ; CR6 ; CR7 ; CR8 are obtained.

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Step 2: extract the original image feature values and decrypt CR5
The recipient extracts the eigenvalues of the original image stored in the first line of CR5 and obtains the key1 according to the Equation 3
(a). The decrypted image QR5 of the fifth layer plane can be obtained. The specific operation is described as

QR5 = Chain decryptðCR5 ; key1 Þ (Equation 17)

Step 3: chain decryption of the remaining bit planes decomposition

8
>
> QR6 = Chain decryptðCR6 ; key5 Þ
>
> QR7 = decryptðCR7 ; key6 Þ
>
> Chain
>
>
< QR8 = Chain decryptðCR8 ; key7 Þ
QR1 = Chain decryptðCR1 ; key8 Þ (Equation 18)
>
>
> QR2
> = Chain decryptðCR2 ; key8 Þ
>
>
>
> Q = Chain decryptðCR3 ; key8 Þ
: R3
QR4 = Chain decryptðCR4 ; key8 Þ

Step 4: recovery bit planes decomposition

X
8
QR = 2i 1 QRi = 20 QR1 + 21 QR 2 + 22 QR3 + 23 QR4 + 24 QR5 + 25 QR6 + 26 QR7 + 27 QR8 (Equation 19)
i= 1

So far, we get the image QR of R channel after chain decryption. Similarly, the decrypted image QG ; QB of the remaining two channels can
be obtained, and the image Q is obtained after compounding the three channels.
Step 5: decrypt random order substitution
After substituting the extracted hash eigenvalue of the original image into the formula Eq. (3)(b), the key2 can be obtained. After substitut-
ing the key1 and key2 into the chaotic system, two chaotic sequences S and S 0 can be obtained, respectively. The index matrix I is obtained
after S0 is sorted by the sort($) function. The random order substitution decryption formula is given as follows:
 j k
8 Q Q
Ii;j 1 ;j 1  2 3 SIi;j ;j for i = 1 W ; j = 2 W
32
> Ii;j ;j mod 256
< j k
BCIi;j ;j = QIi;j ;j  QIi 1;W ;W  2 3 SIi;j ;j mod 256
32
for i = 2 W ; j = 1 (Equation 20)
>
: j k
QIi;j ;j  QIH;W ;W + 232 3 SIi;j ;j mod 256 for i = 1; j = 1

So far, the decrypted image BC can be obtained, which is the cipher image only encrypted by block permutation.
Step 6: decrypt block permutation
Deblock permutation is the inverse operation of block permutation encryption. Firstly, pseudo-random sequences are generated
through 2D-LSCM chaotic system using the key, followed by the image being segmented into blocks, and then block the image BC. Ac-
cording to the generated sequence, the decryption operations of color component scrambling, positive-negative transformation, block
rotation and block inversion, and block permutation are performed in turn. Finally, the decrypted images are combined to obtain the final
decrypted image P.

Experimental results and analysis discussion

Experimental environment
We utilized a personal computer (PC) equipped with MATLAB R2023a software as our experimental platform. The system was pow-
ered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X central processing unit (CPU), featuring a clock frequency of 3.88 GHz. The device had 32 GB of
memory and a 4TB hard drive, operating on the Windows 10 operating system. USC-SIPI image database was used in the experi-
mental data selection.

Experimental results and analysis

Histogram analysis. Figure 9 displays the 3D visualization of the pixel distribution prior to and following the encryption of three channels,
enabling an observation of the cross-plane encryption effect. This visualization serves as a simple yet effective demonstration of the algo-
rithm’s ability to achieve high-performance encryption. Meanwhile, we selected five other images of different types and encrypted them.
The renderings and histograms are presented in Figure 10. The original image shows a certain statistical law, while the statistical character-
istics of the encrypted image histograms show a noise-like distribution, which well hides the gray value information of the images. This mea-
sure strengthens the resilience against statistical analysis attacks.

Adjacent pixel correlation analysis. Ordinary images are typically composed of pixels that have a high degree of neighborhood correla-
tion. However, when using a robust encryption algorithm, the encrypted image should ideally have no association between individual pixels

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A B C D

Figure 9. Images before and after encryption and their 3D histograms

(A) Plain image and cipher image.
(B) Red channel.
(C) Green channel.
(D) Blue channel.

and their nearby counterparts. Therefore, a reliable encryption scheme should transform a regular image into an encrypted image with min-
imal correlation among neighboring pixels.
To evaluate the correlation between adjacent pixels in both plaintext and cipher images, we took the following measures. First, we
randomly selected 3,000 pairs of neighboring pixel points from both the plaintext and cipher images. Secondly, we computed the correlation
coefficients of the neighboring pixels in diverse orientations such as horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and anti-diagonal directions individually. In
accordance with Equation 21, the correlation coefficients are calculated as follows:
! !
PM 1 PM 1 PM
i = 1 xi  xj yi  yj
M j= 1 M j= 1
rxy = vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
!2 u v ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
!2 (Equation 21)
u
uPM 1 PM uPM 1 PM
t t
i = 1 xi  xj i = 1 yi  yj
M j= 1 M j= 1

where xi and yi form the first pair of horizontal/vertical/diagonal/anti-diagonal adjacent pixels and M is the total number of horizontal/vertical/
diagonal/anti-diagonal adjacent pixels. The correlation between adjacent pixels data of the encrypted image is shown in Figure 11. Figure 11
shows the adjacent pixel distribution of the RGB channels before and after "Lena" image encryption. Experimental data indicate a pro-
nounced contrast in the correlation coefficients between typical images and their encrypted counterparts. In particular, the correlation coef-
ficient for a normal image has a value close to 1, while that for an encrypted image is approximately equal to 0. This highlights the ability of the
proposed encryption scheme to generate images with uncorrelated neighboring pixels, emphasizing its resistance to statistical attacks.
Therefore, the scheme presented in this study can be considered as highly secure.

Differential statistical analysis. Two standards are typically used to measure the dissimilarity between the source image and its encryp-
ted version: the number of pixel change rate (NPCR) and the uniform average change intensity (UACI). In standard disparate attacks, at-
tackers tend to make subtle modifications to the source image and then encrypt the original image using the proposed algorithm. This
approach allows them to reveal the underlying relationship between the original and encrypted images. NPCR and UACI criteria are
commonly used to evaluate the resistance of an encryption scheme to disparate attacks. The equations for calculating NPCR and UACI
are as follows:
8
>
> 1 XH XW
>
> NPCR = 3 Dði; jÞ 3 100%
>
< H3W i= 1 i= 1
(Equation 22)
>
> XH XW jv1 ði; jÞ  v2 ði; jÞj
>
> 1
>
: ACI = H 3 W 3 3 100%
i= 1 j= 1 255

where H3W represents the size of the image, and v1 ; v2 is the cipher image before and after changing one pixel of the plaintext image. D can
be defined by the Equation 23.

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A B C D

Figure 10. The images before and after encryption and their 2D histogram
(A) Plain images.
(B) Histogram of (A).
(C) Cipher images.
(D) Histogram of (C).

0; if v1 ði; jÞ = v2 ði; jÞ
D = (Equation 23)
1; if v0 ði; jÞsv2 ði; jÞ

Tables 2 and 3 show the algorithm’s outcomes as computed per Equation 22. These tables reveal that NPCR and UACI align closely with
their expected values of 99.6094% and 33.4635%, respectively. Our algorithm has been further compared with classical algorithms63,64 and
other algorithms,65 with the comparative results presented in both Figures 12 and 13. The results obtained indicate that the proposed encryp-
tion scheme exhibits sensitivity to variations in the source image, allowing the generation of two unique encrypted images even in the pres-
ence of a single difference bit. This substantiates the effectuality and robustness of the presented cryptosystem to changes in the input image,
increasing its overall reliability and viability for various real-world applications.

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A B C

Figure 11. Analysis results of adjacent pixels of plain and cipher images
(A) Red channel.
(B) Green channel.
(C) Blue channel.

Information entropy analysis

The degree of randomness in a system is typically assessed by using the entropy of the information as a standard metric. For an information
source m, the information entropy HðmÞ is given by

Table 2. NPCR values of the matching cipher images by distinct algorithms

Images Description Size Type Proposed CMT-IEA63 LAS-IES64 LICM-IEA65

5.1.09.tiff Moon surface 256 gray 99.6429 99.6658 99.6064 99.6140
5.1.10.tiff Aerial 256 gray 99.6643 99.6475 99.6154 99.5880
5.1.11.tiff Airplane 256 gray 99.5865 99.6674 99.6244 99.6033
5.1.12.tiff Clock 256 gray 99.5422 99.5941 99.5703 99.5651
5.1.13.tiff Resolution chart 256 gray 99.6078 99.6445 99.6109 99.5789
5.1.14.tiff Chemical plant 256 gray 99.6002 99.5975 99.6364 99.6765
5.2.08.tiff Couple 512 gray 99.6162 99.6281 99.5870 99.6037
5.2.09.tiff Aerial 512 gray 99.6040 99.6197 99.6260 99.6029
5.2.10.tiff Stream and bridge 512 gray 99.6078 99.6281 99.6124 99.6124
5.3.01.tiff Male 1024 gray 99.6044 99.6098 99.5931 99.6072
5.3.02.tiff Airport 1024 gray 99.6034 99.6119 99.6128 99.6116
7.1.01.tiff Truck 512 gray 99.6098 99.6273 99.5992 99.6082
7.1.02.tiff Airplane 512 gray 99.6189 99.5892 99.6075 99.6174
7.1.03.tiff Tank 512 gray 99.6140 99.6201 99.6079 99.6120
7.1.04.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 99.6124 99.5894 99.5988 99.5911
7.1.05.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 99.6197 99.6185 99.6170 99.6178
7.1.06.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 99.6231 99.6117 99.6272 99.6174
7.1.07.tiff Tank 512 gray 99.5953 99.6223 99.5931 99.5922
7.1.08.tiff APC 512 gray 99.6239 99.6151 99.6094 99.6056
7.1.09.tiff Tank 512 gray 99.5815 99.6044 99.6162 99.6086
7.1.10.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 99.5945 99.6101 99.6045 99.5941
7.2.01.tiff Airplane(U-2) 1024 gray 99.6114 99.6156 99.6156 99.6204
boat.512.tiff Fishing boat 512 gray 99.6090 99.6006 99.6154 99.6101
ruler.512.tiff Pixel ruler 512 gray 99.6002 99.6265 99.6120 99.6212

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Table 3. UACI values of the matching cipher images by distinct algorithms

Images Description Size Type Proposed CMT-IEA63 LAS-IES64 LICM-IEA65

5.1.09.tiff Moon surface 256 gray 33.4527 33.5980 33.4456 33.4032
5.1.10.tiff Aerial 256 gray 33.4411 33.5366 33.4946 33.3557
5.1.11.tiff Airplane 256 gray 33.4654 33.4398 33.5541 33.4696
5.1.12.tiff Clock 256 gray 33.5273 33.4228 33.4302 33.4634
5.1.13.tiff Resolution chart 256 gray 33.5126 33.4205 33.4438 33.3046
5.1.14.tiff Chemical plant 256 gray 33.3366 33.4696 33.4655 33.4796
5.2.08.tiff Couple 512 gray 33.5251 33.4720 33.4008 33.4493
5.2.09.tiff Aerial 512 gray 33.4637 33.4921 33.4804 33.5077
5.2.10.tiff Stream and bridge 512 gray 33.4888 33.4914 33.4563 33.4457
5.3.01.tiff Male 1024 gray 33.4312 33.4532 33.4585 33.4886
5.3.02.tiff Airport 1024 gray 33.4598 33.4853 33.4605 33.4384
7.1.01.tiff Truck 512 gray 33.5776 33.5212 33.5037 33.4890
7.1.02.tiff Airplane 512 gray 33.4078 33.4846 33.4237 33.4190
7.1.03.tiff Tank 512 gray 33.4673 33.4647 33.4291 33.4689
7.1.04.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 33.4806 33.5202 33.4739 33.4997
7.1.05.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 33.4669 33.5400 33.4362 33.4313
7.1.06.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 33.5479 33.5254 33.3954 33.4760
7.1.07.tiff Tank 512 gray 33.4788 33.5205 33.4073 33.4470
7.1.08.tiff APC 512 gray 33.3658 33.5678 33.4332 33.5203
7.1.09.tiff Tank 512 gray 33.4426 33.5223 33.4177 33.4704
7.1.10.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 33.3967 33.4325 33.4344 33.4892
7.2.01.tiff Airplane(U-2) 1024 gray 33.4812 33.4965 33.4556 33.4192
boat.512.tiff Fishing boat 512 gray 33.3652 33.5097 33.4654 33.5414
ruler.512.tiff Pixel ruler 512 gray 33.4813 33.5129 33.4262 33.4363

X
L
HðmÞ =  pðmi Þlog2 pðmi Þ (Equation 24)
i= 0

where L represents the total number of pixels. The probability of mi is denoted by pðmi Þ.
Suppose the source sends 256 symbols and we can get the theoretical value HðmÞ = 8 using Equation 24. The closer it is to 8, the less likely
it is that an attacker will be able to successfully decode the encrypted image. The Lena image is used as the experimental image of information
entropy (size: 256 3 256, type: color). Table 4 compares the entropy values and shows that the experimental results are close to 8. This in-
dicates that the proposed algorithm has good entropy properties.

Image quality analysis

In the realm of image processing, peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) are served as standard metrics for assessing
the quality of encryption. The mean square error (MSE) is part of the PSNR, defined as

Figure 12. Results of NPCR visualization across different algorithms for comparison

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Figure 13. Comparison results of UACI visualization with different algorithms

8
> 1 Xi = 1 Xj = 1
>
> MSE = ðXði; jÞ  Y ði; jÞÞ
2
>
> H 3 W H W
<
! (Equation 25)
>
> Q2
>
>
> PSNR = 10 3 log10
: MSE

where MSE represents the mean square error between the plaintext image X and the cipher image Y. The vertical extent of the image is rep-
resented by H, and the horizontal dimension of the image is denoted by W. The pixel level of the image is denoted by Q. SSIM is a measure of
the similarity between two images, explained as
 
2mX mY +ð0:01LÞ2 2sXY +ð0:03LÞ2
SSIMðX; Y Þ =   (Equation 26)
m2X +m2Y +ð0:01LÞ2 s2X +s2Y +ð0:03LÞ2

where the mean values of image X is denoted by mX and the mean values of image Y is denoted by mY . The standard deviation of image X is
denoted by sX , the standard deviation of image Y is represented by sY , and L indicates the dynamic amplitude of pixel values.
As shown in the Table 5, the values of MSE, PSNR, and SSIM can be determined using mathematical Equations 25 and 26. Ideally, the
PSNR of an encrypted image should be around 10 dB, while the SSIM should be between 1 and 1. An absolute SSIM value close to 1
indicates excellent similarity between the images being compared. Therefore, after encryption, variations in SSIM should fluctuate
around 0.

Key space
The key space denotes the encompassing set of all conceivable keys that can be utilized for key generation. The magnitude of the key
space is contingent upon the length of secure keys and serves as a critical determinant of the strength of a cryptosystem. It is one of the
most important parameters in the overall assessment of the robustness and reliability of a cryptographic system. The image encryption

Table 4. The results of information entropy analysis for distinct algorithms

Channel
Encryption algorithm Red Green Blue Average value
Proposed 7.9993 7.9994 7.9993 7.99933
Ref. Hua et al.62 7.9993 7.9993 7.9993 7.99930
Ref. Kumar et al.66 7.9912 7.9914 7.9915 7.99137
67
Ref. Kadir et al. 7.9278 7.9744 7.9705 7.95757
Ref. Wu et al.68 7.9895 7.9894 7.9894 7.98943
Ref. Zhou et al.69 7.9992 7.9994 7.9993 7.99930

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Table 5. PSNR, MSE, and SSIM values

Images Description Size Type PSNR(dB) Ref.70 MSE Ref.70 SSIM Ref.70
5.1.09.tiff Moon surface 256 gray 10.1586 10.1588 6269.29 6269.10 0.0103 0.0098
5.1.10.tiff Aerial 256 gray 9.2692 9.2858 7694.17 7664.70 0.0099 0.0098
5.1.11.tiff Airplane 256 gray 7.7554 7.7187 10902.98 10995.00 0.0103 0.0098
5.1.12.tiff Clock 256 gray 7.2710 7.2913 12189.26 12133.00 0.0081 0.0107
5.1.13.tiff Resolution chart 256 gray 4.9404 4.9343 20846.78 20876.00 0.0092 0.0064
5.1.14.tiff Chemical plant 256 gray 9.2195 9.2311 7782.77 7762.00 0.0115 0.0091
5.2.08.tiff Couple 512 gray 9.6047 9.6319 7122.20 7077.70 0.0095 0.0097
5.2.09.tiff Aerial 512 gray 8.2012 8.2019 9839.26 9837.60 0.0089 0.0091
5.2.10.tiff Stream and bridge 512 gray 8.7573 8.7508 8656.67 8669.70 0.0100 0.0085
5.3.01.tiff Male 1024 gray 8.0013 8.0033 10310.87 10298.00 0.0080 0.0086
5.3.02.tiff Airport 1024 gray 8.7334 8.7449 8704.47 8681.50 0.0091 0.0091
7.1.01.tiff Truck 512 gray 9.9018 9.9244 6651.21 6616.70 0.0104 0.0106
7.1.02.tiff Airplane 512 gray 8.9647 8.9790 8253.05 8225.90 0.0104 0.0110
7.1.03.tiff Tank 512 gray 10.1862 10.1819 6229.64 6237.20 0.0104 0.0108
7.1.04.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 9.8068 9.8081 6798.26 6796.20 0.0101 0.0109
7.1.05.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 9.6001 9.6067 7129.70 7118.80 0.0103 0.0106
7.1.06.tiff Truck and APCs 512 gray 9.1130 9.1258 7975.85 7952.50 0.0103 0.0095
7.1.07.tiff Tank 512 gray 10.0470 10.0528 6432.49 6424.00 0.0106 0.0103
7.1.08.tiff APC 512 gray 10.3267 10.3206 6031.23 6039.80 0.0113 0.0109
7.1.09.tiff Tank 512 gray 9.8454 9.8368 6738.12 6751.60 0.0107 0.0107
7.1.10.tiff Car and APCs 512 gray 10.1809 10.1702 6237.23 6252.60 0.0104 0.0108
7.2.01.tiff Airplane(U-2) 1024 gray 6.3261 6.3214 15152.17 15168.00 0.0048 0.0046
boat.512.tiff Fishing boat 512 gray 9.3058 9.3009 7629.54 7638.20 0.0097 0.0086
gray21.512.tiff 21 level step wedge 512 gray 7.5706 7.5703 11376.67 11378.00 0.0088 0.0090
ruler.512.tiff Pixel ruler 512 gray 4.7649 4.7657 21706.57 21702.00 0.0087 0.0075

algorithm proposed in this paper utilizes a 2D discrete chaotic system, and the expression of its key space can be given as S ˛ fa; b; q;
MD5g, where a; b; q are the key parameters with precision 10 16 and MD5 are the hash value introduced to enhance the key
space, which can generate a 128-bit hash. The approximate estimation of the key space size for this encryption scheme is 103316 3
2128 z2287 . By analyzing Table 6, it becomes evident that our proposed encryption scheme not only demonstrates a notable advantage
in terms of the key space over existing schemes but also contributes to the enhanced resilience of our encryption algorithm against
various types of attacks.

Sensitivity analysis
This section analyses the performance sensitivity of the algorithm separately for both key and plaintext. It is essential that security algorithms
have a high level of sensitivity. This implies that even minute alterations in the encryption or decryption process, such as modifications to the
key or variations in the plaintext information, will result in incorrect outcomes.

Key sensitivity analysis. Key sensitivity analysis is performed by comparing the resulting ciphertexts when the identical image is encrypted
using two comparable keys. Our study examines the difference in the resulting ciphertext obtained from encrypting with the actual key and
encryption using an additional key that contains slight perturbations. The difference between these two results is then evaluated using NPCR
and UACI, as calculated via Equation 22, with the consequences presented in Table 7. Interestingly, the consequences express that, even
when the key is subjected to slight perturbations, the resulting NPCR and UACI values of the commensurating ciphertext are close to the

Table 6. Table of key space comparisons

This Article Ref.71 Ref.72 Ref.73 Ref.74

287 128 166 154 224

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Table 7. Comparison of average encryption times

Encryption time (s) Machine specs (CPU and RAM)

Proposed 2.522390 3:88 GHz AMD ; 32 GB
Ref. Alexan et al. 75
2.750966 3:4 GHz Intel CoreTM i7 8 GB
Ref. Alexan et al. 76
2.582389 2:9 GHz Intel CoreTM i9 32 GB
Ref. Xu et al.77 4.980000 2:5 GHz AMD ; 4 GB

ideal values of 99.6094% and 33.4635%, respectively. Figure 14 shows the statistical results of NPCR and UACI under different disturbance
parameters. In addition, it can be clearly seen from Figure 14 that NPCR and UACI are very close to the ideal values, indicating that the pro-
posed algorithm has good key sensitivity, so it can effectively resist differential attacks and chosen-plaintext attacks.

Plaintext sensitivity analysis. Plaintext sensitivity refers to the degree of change in the resulting ciphertext when the plaintext pixels are
changed. If an algorithm ignores plaintext sensitivity, it becomes vulnerable to attacks that exploit the comparison between plaintext and
ciphertext pairs. Consequently, the measure of plaintext sensitivity is a crucial element in determining the robustness of the algorithm against
plaintext attacks. In this section, we analyze the sensitivity of the proposed algorithm to ordinary images by adding 1 to the pixel values of
ordinary images at ðH=3; W=3Þ, ðH=3; 2 3 W=3Þ, ð2 3 H=3; W=3Þ, and ð2 3H=3; 2 3W=3Þ to calculate the NPCR and UACI. The results are
presented in Table 8, and the comparison images are shown in Figure 15; the dotted line in the figure is the average value of NPCR and
UACI for the corresponding color. As indicated in Table 8, when the pixel values at the selected locations are varied by 1, the corresponding
encrypted images exhibit a remarkable average NPCR score of 99.6101% compared to the original ciphertext, which is close to the ideal value
of 99.6094%. Additionally, an average UACI score of 33.4743% is observed, which is also close to the desirable UACI value of 33.4635%. Based
on the results, we can observe that the proposed algorithm makes the cryptographic images susceptible to significant modification, making it
insurmountable for attackers to compromise the system by comparing the ciphertexts. Consequently, the proposed algorithm is sufficiently
equipped to withstand various types of plaintext attacks.

The complexity and execution time analysis

We gauge the complexity of the proposed algorithm by measuring the computational time required for encryption and assess its suitability
for real-time applications. In this encryption scheme, the most critical four steps are chaotic sequence generation, image scrambling, replace-
ment, and bit-level chain diffusion. Their complexity is Oð7 3 H 3 W + 3 =8 3 H 3 WÞ, Oð7 =8 3 H 3 WÞ, OðH 3 WÞ, and Oð8 3 H 3 WÞ,
respectively. Thus, the total complexity is Oð8 3 H 3 WÞ. Table 9 provides a comparison of encryption times between our proposed algo-
rithm and corresponding algorithms in the literature. It is noteworthy that the encryption time data in Table 9 were obtained using computers
with varying processing capabilities and memory configurations to comprehensively evaluate algorithm performance. Such comparisons aid in
determining which encryption algorithm is best suited to meet security and performance requirements under specific hardware and environ-
mental conditions.

Robustness analysis
Robustness is an important index in the evaluation of image encryption algorithm. It measures whether the encryption algorithm can effec-
tively protect the content of the image from damage or leakage in the face of various interference noises. In the real world, images may be
affected by a variety of disturbances. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and evaluate the anti-interference ability of image encryption
algorithm. In this section, salt and pepper noise and occlusion attack are selected for analysis.

Salt and pepper noise analysis. Separately add 5%, 10%, and 20% salt and pepper noise into the plaintext image. We can see from Fig-
ure 16 that the image adding noise can still have effective recognizable image information after decryption.

Figure 14. Comparison conclusions of NPCR and UACI presentation with various levels of disturbance

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Table 8. Key sensitivity test results

0 10 12 10 13 10 14 10 15

Images Description Size Type NPCR UACI NPCR UACI NPCR UACI NPCR UACI NPCR UACI
5.1.09.tiff Moon surface 256 gray 99.6429 33.4527 99.6262 33.5135 99.5789 33.4181 99.6109 33.5142 99.6231 33.3606
5.1.10.tiff Aerial 256 gray 99.6643 33.4411 99.6368 33.3855 99.5987 33.4934 99.5987 33.5587 99.6338 33.4519
5.1.11.tiff Airplane 256 gray 99.5865 33.4654 99.6368 33.3868 99.6063 33.4430 99.6414 33.4939 99.6124 33.3773
5.2.08.tiff Couple 512 gray 99.6162 33.5251 99.6071 33.4395 99.6033 33.5052 99.5979 33.4903 99.6063 33.4551
5.2.09.tiff Aerial 512 gray 99.6040 33.4637 99.6086 33.4904 99.6078 33.4370 99.5708 33.4582 99.6189 33.4731
5.2.10.tiff Stream 512 gray 99.6078 33.4888 99.5945 33.5082 99.6155 33.4839 99.6155 33.4767 99.6098 33.5189
and bridge
5.3.01.tiff Male 1024 gray 99.6044 33.4312 99.6146 33.4459 99.6081 33.4501 99.6126 33.4708 99.6132 33.4830
5.3.02.tiff Airport 1024 gray 99.6034 33.4598 99.6270 33.4504 99.6043 33.4988 99.6037 33.4530 99.6097 33.4479
7.2.01.tiff Airplane(U-2) 1024 gray 99.6114 33.4812 99.6086 33.4596 99.6030 33.4348 99.6092 33.4762 99.6191 33.4776

Occlusion attack analysis. Respectively add occlusion noise, whose sizes are 56 3 56, 81 3 81, and 114 3 114, into cipher image, and we
can see from Figure 17 that the image adding noise can still have effective recognizable image information after decryption.

Conclusion
This paper presents a comprehensive encryption algorithm for enhancing image security by combining chaos-based block permutation and
bit planes chain diffusion. Our approach aims to improve the security of image encryption, enhance its ability to withstand cryptographic at-
tacks in existing computing environments, and ensure secure communication of digital images in networked environments. To begin, we pro-
pose a novel block permutation encryption algorithm that employs chaotic sequences to perform various operations on the plaintext image,
such as block scrambling, rotation, inversion, positive/negative transformation, and color component transformation. These operations
generate an intermediate cipher image, effectively safeguarding the confidentiality of the image. We introduce the random order substitution
method, which further increases the difficulty for the attacker to crack the ciphertext. Last but not least, we utilize the hierarchical structure of
the bit plane and chain diffusion to generate the final ciphertext. By incorporating these mechanisms, the avalanche effect is enhanced, thus
increasing the security of the encryption. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm has high security and robustness,
making it highly resistant to various cryptographic attacks. Therefore, the image encryption algorithm reported in this paper is a preferred
secure communication technology solution, which has a broad application prospect in the secure transmission of multimedia information
in big data environments, etc.

Limitations of the study

There may be some possible limitations in this study. In robustness analysis, there is a very small probability of damaging the original hidden
key, resulting in the ciphertext not being able to be restored.

STAR+METHODS
Detailed methods are provided in the online version of this paper and include the following:

d KEY RESOURCES TABLE

Figure 15. Comparison conclusions of NPCR and UACI presentation with different locations

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OPEN ACCESS Article

Table 9. Plaintext sensitivity test results

(H/3,W/3) (H/3,2 3 W/3) (2 3 H/3,W/3) (2 3 H/3,2 3 W/3)

Images Description Size Type NPCR UACI NPCR UACI NPCR UACI NPCR UACI
2.1.09.tiff San Diego(Point Loma) 512 color 99.5911 33.4904 99.5834 33.3552 99.5728 33.4221 99.6155 33.4213
2.2.13.tiff Stockton 1024 color 99.6262 33.7220 99.5773 33.4769 99.6155 33.4456 99.6124 33.3336
4.2.03.tiff Mandrill 512 color 99.6197 33.4086 99.6170 33.4828 99.5792 33.4577 99.6017 33.4272
4.2.07.tiff Peppers 512 color 99.614 33.4424 99.6284 33.4607 99.6243 33.4108 99.6265 33.4115
5.1.09.tiff Moon surface 256 gray 99.6078 33.6272 99.5987 33.5365 99.5956 33.4835 99.6262 33.3571
5.1.10.tiff Aerial 256 gray 99.6109 33.4922 99.6353 33.5588 99.6353 33.3817 99.5865 33.3876
5.1.11.tiff Airplane 256 gray 99.6338 33.5427 99.6292 33.4084 99.5956 33.3985 99.5773 33.5661
5.2.08.tiff Couple 512 gray 99.6159 33.5467 99.6006 33.4131 99.638 33.4967 99.6109 33.5117
5.2.09.tiff Aerial 512 gray 99.6101 33.4628 99.6243 33.4903 99.6143 33.4327 99.6204 33.5087
5.2.10.tiff Stream and bridge 512 gray 99.6231 33.4788 99.6078 33.5042 99.6319 33.4991 99.6105 33.4073
5.3.01.tiff Male 1024 gray 99.5978 33.4303 99.6098 33.4721 99.6089 33.4410 99.6080 33.4276
5.3.02.tiff Airport 1024 gray 99.6045 33.4976 99.6061 33.4617 99.6060 33.4332 99.6067 33.4688
7.2.01.tiff Airplane(U-2) 1024 gray 99.6016 33.4537 99.6068 33.4851 99.6057 33.4522 99.6070 33.4456
house.tiff House 512 color 99.6136 33.4647 99.6059 33.4378 99.6212 33.4957 99.6117 33.4957

d RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
B Lead contact
B Materials availability
B Data and code availability
d METHOD DETAILS
d QUANTIFICATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
B Adjacent pixel correlation analysis
B Differential statistical analysis
B Information entropy analysis
B Image quality analysis

Figure 16. The cipher and decryption image after adding salt and pepper noise
(A) Add 5% salt and pepper noise.
(B) Add 10% salt and pepper noise.
(C) Add 20% salt and pepper noise.

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Article OPEN ACCESS

Figure 17. The cipher and decryption image after adding occlusion noise
(A) Add 56356 occlusion noise.
(B) Add 81381 occlusion noise.
(C) Add 1143114 occlusion noise.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported in part by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under grant 2023A1515011717, in part by Proj-
ect for Zhongshan Science and Technology under grant 2021B2062, and in part by Special Projects for Key Fields of the Education Depart-
ment of Guangdong Province under grant 2023ZDZX1041.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Conceptualization, Y.L.; methodology, Y.L.; software, Y.L. and S.K.; validation, S.K. and X.Z.; formal analysis, S.K. and X.Z.; investigation, S.K.
and X.Z.; resources, H.W. and K.Z.; data curation, S.K. and X.Z.; writing – original draft, Y.L. and H.W.; writing – review & editing, Y.L. and H.W.;
visualization, Y.L.; supervision, H.W.; project administration, H.W.; funding acquisition, H.W. All authors have read and agreed to the pub-
lished version of the manuscript.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
The authors declare no competing interests.

Received: July 29, 2023

Revised: November 1, 2023
Accepted: November 29, 2023
Published: December 2, 2023

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STAR+METHODS

KEY RESOURCES TABLE

REAGENT or RESOURCE SOURCE IDENTIFIER

Software and algorithms
Matlab R2023a MathWorks.Inc https://ww2.mathworks.cn/products/matlab.
html
The USC-SIPI Image Database University of Southern California https://sipi.usc.edu/database/database.php

RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
Lead contact
Further information for resources and materials should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the lead contact, Dr. Heping Wen (wenheping@
uestc.edu.cn).

Materials availability
This study did not generate new unique reagents.

Data and code availability

 All experimental data is clearly explained in this paper.
 This paper does not report original code.
 Any additional information required to reanalyze the data reported in this paper is available from the lead contact upon request.

METHOD DETAILS
In this study, a PC equipped with MATLAB R2023a software was used as the experimental platform. The system is driven by AMD Ryzen 9 5950
X CPU with a clock frequency of 3.88 GHz. The device has 32GB memory and 4TB hard disk and runs on Windows 10 operating system. The
experimental data were selected from the USC-SIPI image database. All the software and data involved can be publicly available in the key
resources table.

QUANTIFICATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Adjacent pixel correlation analysis
The correlation coefficients are calculated as follows:
! !
PM 1 PM 1 PM
i = 1 xi  xj yi  yj
M j= 1 M j= 1
rxy = vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
!2 u v ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
!2
u
uPM 1 PM uPM 1 PM
t t
i = 1 xi  xj i = 1 yi  yj
M j= 1 M j= 1

where xi and yi form the first pair of horizontal/vertical/diagonal/anti-diagonal adjacent pixels and M is the total number of horizontal/vertical/
diagonal/anti-diagonal adjacent pixels.

Differential statistical analysis

Two standards are typically used to measure the dissimilarity between the source image and its encrypted version: the number of pixel change
rate (NPCR) and the uniform average change intensity (UACI). In standard disparate attacks, attackers tend to make subtle modifications to
the source image and then encrypt the original image using the proposed algorithm. This approach allows them to reveal the underlying
relationship between the original and encrypted images. NPCR and UACI criteria are commonly used to evaluate the resistance of an encryp-
tion scheme to disparate attacks. The equations for calculating NPCR and UACI are as follows:

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8
>
> 1 XH XW
>
> NPCR = 3 Dði; jÞ 3 100%
>
< H3W i= 1 i= 1

>
> XH XW jv1 ði; jÞ  v2 ði; jÞj
>
> 1
>
: UACI = H 3 W 3 3 100%
i= 1 j= 1 255

where H3W represents the size of the image, v1 ; v2 is the cipher image before and after changing one pixel of the plaintext image. D can be
defined:


0; if v1 ði; jÞ = v2 ði; jÞ
D =
1; if v0 ði; jÞsv2 ði; jÞ

Information entropy analysis

The degree of randomness in a system is typically assessed by using the entropy of the information as a standard metric. For an information
source m, the information entropy HðmÞ is given by:

X
L
HðmÞ =  pðmi Þlog2 pðmi Þ
i= 0

where L represents the total number of pixels. The probability of mi is denoted by pðmi Þ.

Image quality analysis

In the realm of image processing, Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity (SSIM) are served as standard metrics for assess-
ing the quality of encryption. The Mean Square Error (MSE) is part of the PSNR, defined as:
8
> 1 Xi = 1 Xj = 1
>
> MSE = ðXði; jÞ  Y ði; jÞÞ2
>
> H3W H W
<
!
>
> Q2
>
>
>
: PSNR = 10 3 log 10
MSE

where MSE represents the mean square error between the plaintext image X and the ciphertext image Y. The vertical extent of the image is
represented by H, the horizontal dimension of the image is denoted by W. The pixel level of the image is denoted by Q. SSIM is a measure of
the similarity between two images, explained as:
 
2mX mY +ð0:01LÞ2 2sXY +ð0:03LÞ2
SSIMðX; Y Þ =  
2 2
m2X +m2Y +ð0:01LÞ s2X +s2Y +ð0:03LÞ

where the mean values of image X is denoted by mX , the mean values of image Y is denoted by mY . The standard deviation of image X is
denoted by sX , the standard deviation of image Y is represented by sY and L indicates the dynamic amplitude of pixel values.

iScience 27, 108610, January 19, 2024 25