SPJEU: a self-sufficient plaintext-related JPEG image encryption scheme based on a unified key

Abstract

In recent research on image encryption, many schemes associate the key generation mechanism with the plaintext to resist chosen plaintext attacks. However, when the sender encrypts many images, a large amount of additional data related to the plaintext need to be transmitted, which leads to problems such as high transmission costs, high requirements for key storage space, and complex key management. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a self-sufficient plaintext-related JPEG image encryption scheme based on a unified key (SPJEU). This scheme establishes the connection between the plaintext and the key by selecting the direct current (DC) coefficients in the JPEG image through a unified key. Homomorphic encryption is applied to the selected DC coefficients, allowing plaintext information to be decrypted directly from the ciphertext domain using a specific calculation method. The remaining DC coefficients are encrypted through group diffusion, and the alternating current (AC) coefficients are grouped and permuted based on the run length. Extensive experiments show that our scheme can resist chosen plaintext attacks, avoid transmitting plaintext-related additional data in the communication channel, and simplify key management. This scheme also ensures the security and format compatibility of the ciphertext image, and the file increment after encryption is very small.

Keywords

Image encryption / Self-sufficient / Plaintext-related / JPEG / Homomorphic encryption

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Zhejiang University Press