General secure encryption algorithm for separable reversible data hiding in encrypted domain

Abstract

The separable reversible data hiding in encrypted domain (RDH-ED) algorithm leaves out the embedding space for the information before or after encryption and makes the operation of extracting the information and restoring the image not interfere with each other. The encryption method employed not only affects the embedding space of the information and separability, but is more crucial for ensuring security. However, the commonly used XOR, scram-bling or combination methods fall short in security, especially against known plaintext attack (KPA). Therefore, in order to improve the security of RDH-ED and be widely applicable, this paper proposes a high-security RDH-ED encryption algorithm that can be used to reserve space before encryption (RSBE) and free space after encryption (FSAE). During encryption, the image undergoes block XOR, global intra-block bit-plane scrambling (GIBS) and inter-block scrambling sequentially. The GIBS key is created through chaotic mapping transformation. Subsequently, two RDH-ED algorithms based on this encryption are proposed. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm outlined in this paper maintains consistent key communication traffic post key conversion. Additionally, its computational complexity remains at a constant level, satisfying separability criteria, and is suitable for both RSBE and FSAE methods. Simultaneously, while satisfying the security of a single encryption technique, we have expanded the key space to 2${}^{8Np}\times Np!\times 8{!}^{Np}$, enabling resilience against various existing attack methods. Notably, particularly in KPA testing scenarios, the average decryption success rate is a mere 0.0067% and 0.0045%, highlighting its exceptional security. Overall, this virtually unbreakable system significantly enhances image security while preserving an appropriate embedding capacity.