Fractional-order Sprott K chaotic system and its application to biometric iris image encryption

Fractional-order (FO) chaotic systems exhibit random sequences of significantly greater complexity when compared to integer-order systems. This feature makes FO chaotic systems more secure against various attacks in image cryptosystems. In this study, the dynamical characteristics of the FO Sprott K chaotic system are thoroughly investigated by phase planes, bifurcation diagrams, and Lyapunov exponential spectrums to be utilized in biometric iris image encryption. It is proven with the numerical studies the Sprott K system demonstrates chaotic behaviour when the order of the system is selected as 0.9. Afterward, the introduced FO Sprott K chaotic system-based biometric iris image encryption design is carried out in the study. According to the results of the statistical and attack analyses of the encryption design, the secure transmission of biometric iris images is successful using the proposed encryption design. Thus, the FO Sprott K chaotic system can be employed effectively in chaos-based encryption applications. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd