Image Encryption Using the Recursive Attributes of the eXclusive-OR Filter on Cellular Automata

Abstract

A novel visual multimedia content encryption method based on cellular automata (CA) is presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm is based on an attribute of the eXclusive-OR (XOR) logic gate, according to which, its application to a square-sized CA has the ability to reconstruct the original content of a CA after a preset number of iterations. The resulted encrypted image is a lossless representation of the original/plaintext image, i.e. there is no loss of either resolution or contrast. Experimental results indicate that the encrypted image does not contain any statistical information able to reveal the original image.