A Novel Image Encryption Scheme Based on a Quantum Logistic Map, Hyper-Chaotic Lorenz Map, and DNA Dynamic Encoding

In the digital information age, although digital images are widely used, the security issues associated with them have become increasingly severe. Consequently, ensuring secure image transmission has become a critical challenge in contemporary information security research. Chaotic systems are characterized by non-periodic behavior, strong dependence on initial conditions, and other favorable characteristics, and have been widely employed in the scrambling and diffusion processes of image encryption. Compared to classical chaotic maps, a quantum Logistic map exhibits better randomness and stronger sensitivity to initial values, effectively overcoming the attractor problem inherent in classical Logistic maps, thereby significantly enhancing the robustness of encryption methodologies. This article focuses on a innovative integration of a quantum Logistic map, hyper-chaotic Lorenz map, and DNA dynamic encoding technology, to design and implement a highly secure and efficient image encryption scheme. First, high-quality random number sequences are produced utilizing the quantum Logistic map, which is then employed to perform a scrambling operation on the image. Next, by integrating the chaotic sequences yielded from the hyper-chaotic Lorenz map with DNA dynamic encoding and operation rules, we implement a diffusion process, thereby increasing the strength of the image encryption. Experimental simulation results and multiple security analyses demonstrated that our encryption methodology achieved excellent encryption performance, effectively resisting a variety of attack strategies, and it holds significant potential for research on protecting image information through encryption.