New method of colour image encryption using triple chaotic maps

Abstract A new image encryption algorithm based on the triple chaotic maps is proposed to deal with the issues of inadequate security and low encryption efficiency. Coloured images consist of three linked channels used in the scheme. This method uses different keys to break the correlations between adjacent pixels in each channel. The triple chaotic maps are Lorenz, 2D‐Logistic, and Henon. First, the plain image is split into RGB channels to encrypt each channel separately. Second, the triple chaotic maps generate two groups of keys. The first group of keys performs a pixel permutation, resulting in scrambled channels used as input for the following step. Finally, the second group of keys is used to diffuse the scrambled channels independently, resulting in diffused channels, which are then merged to obtain a cipher image. The triple chaotic maps of different orders generate the cipher image with great unpredictability and security. The security is evaluated using various measures. The results demonstrated a high level of security attained by successfully encrypting coloured images. Recent encryption algorithms are compared in terms of entropy, correlation coefficients, and attack robustness. The proposed method provided outstanding security and outperformed existing image encryption algorithms.