A cost-effective encryption scheme for color images

A new secret sharing scheme suitable for encrypting color images is introduced. The scheme, which can be viewed as a cost-effective, private-key cryptosystem, encrypts the secret color image into two color shares with dimensions identical to those of the original secret input. Cryptographic operations performed at the bit levels are used to alter both the spectral correlation among the RGB color components and the spatial correlation of the neighboring color vectors in the secret image. The original image is decrypted with perfect reconstruction using inverse logical operations which are applied to the noise-like color shares. The scheme can be used in secure transmission of digital imaging material over untrusted networks or it can serve as stand-alone image encryption solution. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.