An efficient dual-stage pixel-diffusion based multimedia-image encryption using one-type 1D chaotic maps

Multimedia is an appealing and interactive information representation using a mixture of images, text, audios, and videos. In many cases, people are using images more often than text to represent the information. This is because people do not like to read large amounts of textual content. Multimedia-images are widely used in military intelligence, satellite imagery, education, business presentations, secret documentations, etc. Security is therefore a major concern nowadays for storing and transmitting these multimedia-images. There are many algorithms that have been proposed in recent times to attain security. This paper presents a dual-stage pixel-diffusion protection image encryption method based on one-type one-dimensional (1D) chaotic maps. The two-stage diffusion process diffuses pixels twice and thus increases the algorithm’s security. The proposed algorithm is stronger than the encryption algorithms based on the one-stage diffusion process. The proposed technique initially performs pixel-permutation operation in the individual components of colour images (red, green, and blue) and then conducts twice-diffusion operations (ADD and Exclusive-OR) in the individual components. The performance of the suggested method is evaluated using key space, histogram variance, adjacent pixel correlation, information entropy, differential attack, and computational complexity analyses. The key space of the proposed approach is 70.62% greater than that of the comparative method, which has the greatest key space. Like key space, the proposed strategy has a 4.91% lower histogram variance and 75% lower adjacent pixel correlations in encrypted images than the comparison methods, which has the lowest histogram variance and adjacent pixel correlations. The proposed scheme’s information entropy is just 0.0013% lower than the comparison technique, which has a greater information entropy. The proposed scheme’s average NPCR (Number of Pixel Changing Rate) and UACI (Unified Average Changing Intensity) are 0.01% and 0.002% higher, respectively, than the comparison technique, which has the highest NPCR and UACI value. The suggested approach has a computational complexity that is three times lower than that of the other colour image encryption schemes. According to computer simulations, security analysis findings, and comparison analysis, the proposed methodology outperforms existing image encryption approaches. In addition to improved security, the usage of one type of 1D chaotic maps increases the system’s hardware and software efficiency.