Scholarlink

<p>As the world is transitioning towards the quantum era, this research presents the Quantum Key Distribution Inspired Image Encryption (QKDIE) algorithm, an image encryption and decryption framework that leverages the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol to enhance the security of image transmission. BB84 ensures secure key exchange through the quantum bit error rate (QBER) monitoring. A QBER of approximately <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(1.0\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> was consistently achieved across all the experiments and well below the 11% security abort threshold. The BB84 sifted key is used to derive a 256-bit ChaCha20 stream cipher key via SHA-256, providing formally IND-CPA secure encryption with a unique nonce per session. The encryption pipeline implements four successive layers: Fisher-Yates pixel permutation for spatial scrambling, a key-dependent nonlinear S-box substitution for per-pixel confusion, an invertible CBC-style row-column diffusion layer for inter-pixel avalanche propagation, and ChaCha20 stream encryption for quantum seeded bitwise transformation. The proposed method is evaluated through cryptographic security metrics including UACI, NPCR, Shannon Entropy, pixel correlation, chi-square uniformity test, avalanche effect, and known-plaintext attack simulation, alongside decryption fidelity metrics including MSE, PSNR, SSIM, and NIQE. Experimental results across four test images demonstrate UACI values of <InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(33.46\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>–<InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(36.59\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>, NPCR values of <InlineEquation ID="IEq4"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(99.59\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>–<InlineEquation ID="IEq5"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(99.63\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>, Shannon entropy of 7.9968–7.9995 bits per pixel, and near-zero pixel correlation in all spatial directions. All four images passed the chi-square uniformity test (values 217.77–283.94, critical value 293.25). The avalanche test confirmed <InlineEquation ID="IEq6"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(99.60\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>–<InlineEquation ID="IEq7"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(99.61\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> pixel change rate and <InlineEquation ID="IEq8"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(50.01\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>–<InlineEquation ID="IEq9"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(50.05\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> bit-level change rate with a single-bit key perturbation, satisfying the strict avalanche criterion. KPA simulation confirmed keystream independence across sessions (<InlineEquation ID="IEq10"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(47.27\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>–<InlineEquation ID="IEq11"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(51.95\%\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> bit match, indistinguishable from random chance). Perfect decryption was achieved in all cases (MSE <InlineEquation ID="IEq12"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(= 0\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>) which validates the reliability of the proposed QKDIE framework.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

A Novel Quantum Key Distribution Inspired Image Encryption (QKDIE) Algorithm for Enhanced Image Security

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月30日

查看全文
  • Jyoti Singh Kirar,
  • Akanksha Rao

摘要

As the world is transitioning towards the quantum era, this research presents the Quantum Key Distribution Inspired Image Encryption (QKDIE) algorithm, an image encryption and decryption framework that leverages the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol to enhance the security of image transmission. BB84 ensures secure key exchange through the quantum bit error rate (QBER) monitoring. A QBER of approximately \(1.0\%\) was consistently achieved across all the experiments and well below the 11% security abort threshold. The BB84 sifted key is used to derive a 256-bit ChaCha20 stream cipher key via SHA-256, providing formally IND-CPA secure encryption with a unique nonce per session. The encryption pipeline implements four successive layers: Fisher-Yates pixel permutation for spatial scrambling, a key-dependent nonlinear S-box substitution for per-pixel confusion, an invertible CBC-style row-column diffusion layer for inter-pixel avalanche propagation, and ChaCha20 stream encryption for quantum seeded bitwise transformation. The proposed method is evaluated through cryptographic security metrics including UACI, NPCR, Shannon Entropy, pixel correlation, chi-square uniformity test, avalanche effect, and known-plaintext attack simulation, alongside decryption fidelity metrics including MSE, PSNR, SSIM, and NIQE. Experimental results across four test images demonstrate UACI values of \(33.46\%\) – \(36.59\%\) , NPCR values of \(99.59\%\) – \(99.63\%\) , Shannon entropy of 7.9968–7.9995 bits per pixel, and near-zero pixel correlation in all spatial directions. All four images passed the chi-square uniformity test (values 217.77–283.94, critical value 293.25). The avalanche test confirmed \(99.60\%\) – \(99.61\%\) pixel change rate and \(50.01\%\) – \(50.05\%\) bit-level change rate with a single-bit key perturbation, satisfying the strict avalanche criterion. KPA simulation confirmed keystream independence across sessions ( \(47.27\%\) – \(51.95\%\) bit match, indistinguishable from random chance). Perfect decryption was achieved in all cases (MSE \(= 0\) ) which validates the reliability of the proposed QKDIE framework.