Color image encryption based on Coupled Nonlinear Chaotic Map

Image encryption is somehow different from text encryption due to some inherent features of image such as bulk data capacity and high correlation among pixels, which are generally difficult to handle by conventional methods. The desirable cryptographic properties of the chaotic maps such as sensitivity to initial conditions and random-like behavior have attracted the attention of cryptographers to develop new encryption algorithms. Therefore, recent researches of image encryption algorithms have been increasingly based on chaotic systems, though the drawbacks of small key space and weak security in one-dimensional chaotic cryptosystems are obvious. This paper proposes a Coupled Nonlinear Chaotic Map, called CNCM, and a novel chaos-based image encryption algorithm to encrypt color images by using CNCM. The chaotic cryptography technique which used in this paper is a symmetric key cryptography with a stream cipher structure. In order to increase the security of the proposed algorithm, 240 bit-long secret key is used to generate the initial conditions and parameters of the chaotic map by making some algebraic transformations to the key. These transformations as well as the nonlinearity and coupling structure of the CNCM have enhanced the cryptosystem security. For getting higher security and higher complexity, the current paper employs the image size and color components to cryptosystem, thereby significantly increasing the resistance to known/chosen-plaintext attacks. The results of several experimental, statistical analysis and key sensitivity tests show that the proposed image encryption scheme provides an efficient and secure way for real-time image encryption and transmission. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.