Lightweight, dynamic and efficient image encryption scheme

Recently, there has been a growing attention for Chaos-based image encryption algorithms. This class of algorithms relies on embedded chaotic maps to ensure a high security level with minimal performance overhead. One such algorithm, which we refer to as NCIES, was proposed recently, and the authors claimed that the algorithm achieves the required cryptographic properties with just a single round. In this paper, we first assess the performance of the NCIES cipher and we show that a single round is not enough for this cipher to ensure the desired cryptographic properties. In this context, we describe how such a cipher is vulnerable to a chosen plaintext/ciphertext attack. Next, we propose a new lightweight dynamic key-dependent cipher scheme that can address and overcome the issues identified in the NCIES cipher and other recent lightweight image encryption schemes. The proposed cipher is designed in a way to achieve a good balance between the latency, the required resources, and the security level when compared to recent chaotic image cipher schemes.