# Research on Image Encryption with Multi-Level Keys Based on a Six-Dimensional Memristive Chaotic System

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new image encryption method using a six-dimensional memristive chaotic system for enhanced security.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in combining a six-dimensional memristive chaotic system with multi-level dynamic keys for image encryption.

## Key findings

- The encrypted image achieves high information entropy (7.9979) and strong resistance to conventional attacks.
- The encryption process is efficient, taking only 0.342 seconds for a 256 × 256 image.
- The algorithm shows high NPCR (99.6111%) and UACI (33.4643%) values, indicating strong diffusion properties.

## Abstract

To address the security of digital images, this paper proposes a novel image encryption algorithm based on a six-dimensional memristive chaotic system. First, the algorithm uses the Secure Hash Algorithm 256 (SHA-256) to generate a hash value, from which the initial dynamic key is derived. Next, it integrates Zigzag scrambling, chaotic index scrambling, and diffusion operations to form an encryption scheme with multiple rounds of scrambling and diffusion. In this framework, after each encryption operation, a part of the dynamic key is changed according to the input parameters, and the six-dimensional memristive chaotic system continues iterating to generate the pseudo-random sequence for the next operation. Finally, the proposed algorithm is evaluated using indicators including information entropy, histograms, the Number of Pixels Change Rate (NPCR) and Unified Average Changing Intensity (UACI), encryption time, and so on. The results show that the information entropy of the encrypted image reaches 7.9979; its Chi-square statistic is 186.6875; the average NPCR and UACI are 99.6111% and 33.4643%, respectively; and the encryption time is 0.342 s for the 256 × 256 Cameraman image. These indicate that image encryption is not only effective in encrypting images but also resistant to many conventional attacks.