Parallel image encryption with bitplane decomposition and genetic algorithm

Image encryption is an efficient technique to protect image content from unauthorized parties. In this paper a parallel image encryption method based on bitplane decomposition is proposed. The original grayscale image is converted to a set of binary images by local binary pattern (LBP) technique and bitplane decomposition (BPD) methods. Then, permutation and substitution steps are performed by genetic algorithm (GA) using crossover and mutation operations. Finally, these scrambled bitplanes are combined together to obtain encrypted image. Instead of random population selection in GA, a deterministic method with security keys is utilized to improve security level. The proposed encryption method has parallel processing capability for multiple bitplanes encryption. This distributed GA with multiple populations increases encryption speed and makes it suitable for real-time applications. Simulations and security analysis are done to demonstrate efficiency of our algorithm.