Image encryption algorithm based on DNA network and hyperchaotic system

This paper presents a novel deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) network encryption method combined with a hyperchaotic system for image encryption. The DNA network encryption algorithm contains 12 different DNA operations, which overcomes the limitations of existing DNA encryption schemes that rely on limited fixed DNA operation types. Firstly, secure hash algorithm 256-bit (SHA-256) is employed to generate secret keys associated with the plaintext. Secondly, the hyperchaotic system is employed to derive key streams with high plaintext sensitivity. Thirdly, the DNA encoding, DNA network encryption and decoding are performed sequentially to encrypt the plaintext image using the keystreams. Finally, an additional row-column disruption is executed to strengthen the resistance of the encryption scheme to attacks. Security analysis reveals that the information entropy of our cipher image reaches 7.9975 and the average pixel correlation coefficients are below 0.01, implying that our encryption algorithm has excellent security.