Enhancing visual privacy: A novel RGB image encryption method employing Galois field

Source abstract

The basic building block of a modern block cipher is the substitution box (S-box), which provides the nonlinearity that is required when fending off advanced cryptanalytic methods. The novel approach introduced in the present work is computationally efficient, but it is still a robust algorithm for generating an 8 8 S-box through an operation of a specifically defined bijective mapping over the Galois Field GF(28). The proposed S-box was strictly tested on a broad range of standard security criteria to prove its cryptographic integrity. A good performance has been identified in the analysis with a nonlinearity of 112 and linear approximation probability (LAP) of 0.0625, and the outstanding element of differential approximation probability (DAP) of 0.0156. Using a strong cryptographic construction, the new AES structure implements an S-box whose avalanche-like properties are best shown by a low value of the strict avalanche criterion (SAC) 0.4995 and strong bit independence (BIC) scores. The experimental results have supported the hypothesis that the proposed S-box has a much greater resistance to both the differential and the linear attacks compared with the state-of-the-art algebraic, heuristic, and chaos-based designs. In order to show how applicable the S-box can be in practical terms, a framework of image encryption incorporates the use of the S-box in it, whereby it operates as the basis element of a block cipher. The resulting cipher image achieved an entropy of 7.9978, which demonstrates a very high degree of randomness and strong resistance to statistical attacks. The feature article introduces a significant step towards systematizing cryptographic design through the introduction of a sound and carefully defined framework for the construction of high-security S-boxes.