Improved Image Encryption Algorithm Based on Reversible Cellular Automata

Abstract

As the demand for image transmission and storage is increasing in multimedia technology and on the Internet, image security and encryption has become a critical research area. This paper presents a novel image encryption algorithm based on several evolved rules of reversible cellular automata. Considering the reversible nature of reversible cellular automata, the proposed approach employs a sequence of reversible cellular automaton rules and pseudo-random data to enhance image security by improving both confusion and diffusion properties. The encryption process converts the original images to highly secure versions, while the decryption process accurately restores the original images using the same reversible cellular automaton rules. Experimental results demonstrate that the improved method effectively achieves uniform pixel distribution in encrypted images, ensuring strong confusion property. Additionally, encrypting the same image with different initial random sequences of data results in completely different encrypted versions, confirming the high diffusion property. The proposed method achieves strong computational performance, rendering it appropriate for use in real-time scenarios.