Islam T. Almalkawi^1,*, Samer Khasawneh¹, Hamza M. Alkhatib¹, Sabya Shtaiwi¹, Rami Halloush², Manel Guerrero Zapata³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.89, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.077025 - 13 August 2026

Abstract Current image steganography methods often struggle to balance security, payload capacity, and computational efficiency, with many spatial-domain techniques vulnerable to statistical steganalysis and complex methods incurring high overhead. To address persistent challenges in secure data communication, this paper introduces a novel hybrid chaotic-based multi-layered image security and steganography scheme to enhance resistance against detection while offering adaptable performance. The proposed scheme first integrates Fisher-Yates permutation driven by a Logistic Map PRNG, followed by stream cipher encryption using a Hénon Map-generated keystream to secure the secret image. Embedding is then performed via a unique three-pass chaotic More > Graphic Abstract

Walaa Alayed¹, Asad Ur Rehman², M.Awais Ehsan³, Waqar Ul Hassan⁴, Ahmed Zeeshan^5,6,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.88, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.078078 - 08 May 2026

Abstract The rapid growth in the field of data and cloud computing has made it essential to ensure information security. Encryption consists of multiple layers, among which a critical component is the Substitution box (S-box). The S-box provides nonlinearity and confusion between the original and cipher forms, and its performance directly determines the security of the cipher against cryptanalysis. Chaotic systems have been widely used for image encryption, however, they suffer from well known limitations such as deterministic periodicity and reduced unpredictability in finite field digital environments. To address these issues, we propose a new S-box… More >

Somia A. Abd El-Mottaleb¹, Amira G. Mohamed², Mehtab Singh³, Hassan Yousif Ahmed⁴, Medien Zeghid⁴, Abu Sufian A. Osman^5,*, Sami Mourou⁵

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.075669 - 12 March 2026

Abstract This paper presents an image encryption scheme for underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) systems based on dynamically generated hyperchaotic S-boxes, aiming to enhance both data security and transmission performance in underwater environments. The proposed encryption approach provides strong confusion and diffusion properties and is evaluated over five Jerlov water types with different optical attenuation characteristics. Security analysis demonstrates that the encrypted images achieve information entropy values close to the ideal value of 8 (7.9925–7.9993), with very low correlation coefficients in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions, as well as the system achieves high values in key… More >

Shereen S. Jumaa¹, Mohsin H. Challoob², Amjad J. Humaidi^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.074752 - 10 February 2026

Abstract Military image encryption plays a vital role in ensuring the secure transmission of sensitive visual information from unauthorized access. This paper proposes a new Tri-independent keying method for encrypting military images. The proposed encryption method is based on multilevel security stages of pixel-level scrambling, bit-level manipulation, and block-level shuffling operations. For having a vast key space, the input password is hashed by the Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit (SHA-256) for generating independently deterministic keys used in the multilevel stages. A piecewise pixel-level scrambling function is introduced to perform a dual flipping process controlled with an adaptive… More >

Bassam Al-Shargabi^1,*, Mohammed Abbas Fadhil Al-Husainy², Abdelrahman Abuarqoub¹, Omar Albahbouh Aldabbas³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.074550 - 10 February 2026

Abstract The advent of 5G technology has significantly enhanced the transmission of images over networks, expanding data accessibility and exposure across various applications in digital technology and social media. Consequently, the protection of sensitive data has become increasingly critical. Regardless of the complexity of the encryption algorithm used, a robust and highly secure encryption key is essential, with randomness and key space being crucial factors. This paper proposes a new Robust Deoxyribonucleic Acid (RDNA) nucleotide-based encryption method. The RDNA encryption method leverages the unique properties of DNA nucleotides, including their inherent randomness and extensive key space,… More >

Umar Hayat^1,2,*, Ikram Ullah², Muhammad Bilal²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.073097 - 10 February 2026

Abstract Elliptic curve (EC) based cryptosystems gained more attention due to enhanced security than the existing public key cryptosystems. A substitution box (S-box) plays a vital role in securing modern symmetric key cryptosystems. However, the recently developed EC based algorithms usually trade off between computational efficiency and security, necessitating the design of a new algorithm with the desired cryptographic strength. To address these shortcomings, this paper proposes a new scheme based on Mordell elliptic curve (MEC) over the complex field for generating distinct, dynamic, and highly uncorrelated S-boxes. Furthermore, we count the exact number of the… More >

Hongyu Zhao^1,2, Shengsheng Wang^1,2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.1, pp. 1-25, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.068426 - 10 November 2025

Abstract Driven by advancements in mobile internet technology, images have become a crucial data medium. Ensuring the security of image information during transmission has thus emerged as an urgent challenge. This study proposes a novel image encryption algorithm specifically designed for grayscale image security. This research introduces a new Cantor diagonal matrix permutation method. The proposed permutation method uses row and column index sequences to control the Cantor diagonal matrix, where the row and column index sequences are generated by a spatiotemporal chaotic system named coupled map lattice (CML). The high initial value sensitivity of the… More >

David S. Bhatti^1,*, Annas W. Malik², Haeung Choi¹, Ki-Il Kim^3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.85, No.1, pp. 2157-2177, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.068360 - 29 August 2025

Abstract Traditional chaotic maps struggle with narrow chaotic ranges and inefficiencies, limiting their use for lightweight, secure image encryption in resource-constrained Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). We propose the SPCM, a novel one-dimensional discontinuous chaotic system integrating polynomial and sine functions, leveraging a piecewise function to achieve a broad chaotic range () and a high Lyapunov exponent (5.04). Validated through nine benchmarks, including standard randomness tests, Diehard tests, and Shannon entropy (3.883), SPCM demonstrates superior randomness and high sensitivity to initial conditions. Applied to image encryption, SPCM achieves 0.152582 s (39% faster than some techniques) and 433.42 More >

Gang Liu¹, Guosheng Xu^1,*, Chenyu Wang¹, Guoai Xu²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.84, No.3, pp. 4851-4868, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.066331 - 30 July 2025

Abstract In wireless communication transmission, image encryption plays a key role in protecting data privacy against unauthorized access. However, conventional encryption methods often face challenges in key space security, particularly when relying on chaotic sequences, which may exhibit vulnerabilities to brute-force and predictability-based attacks. To address the limitations, this paper presents a robust and efficient encryption scheme that combines iterative hyper-chaotic systems and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Firstly, a novel two-dimensional iterative hyper-chaotic system is proposed because of its complex dynamic behavior and expanded parameter space, which can enhance the key space complexity and randomness, ensuring… More >

Rim Amdouni^1,2,*, Mahdi Madani³, Mohamed Ali Hajjaji^1,4, El Bay Bourennane³, Mohamed Atri⁵

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.84, No.3, pp. 5527-5553, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.065356 - 30 July 2025

Abstract Ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of patient medical information is a critical priority in the healthcare sector. In the context of security, this paper proposes a novel encryption algorithm that integrates Blockchain technology, aiming to improve the security and privacy of transmitted data. The proposed encryption algorithm is a block-cipher image encryption scheme based on different chaotic maps: The logistic Map, the Tent Map, and the Henon Map used to generate three encryption keys. The proposed block-cipher system employs the Hilbert curve to perform permutation while a generated chaos-based S-Box is used to perform substitution.… More >