A secure image encryption mechanism using biased Fourier quantum walk and addition-crossover structure in the Internet of Things

Abstract

The emergence of the fifth-generation network technology, along with ongoing advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT), has stimulated the substantial transformation of production methods and traditional industries to greatly enrich the quality of daily life. However, the vast amounts of data generated by IoT devices often include sensitive personal information, posing risks of hacking, theft, and misuse. In this study, a secure image encryption mechanism is proposed using the biased Fourier quantum walk and addition-crossover structure to ensure the confidentiality of private data in IoT applications. The originality of this study resides in the innovative implementation of ensuing modules to enhance the security and robustness of the mechanism. First, we introduce a two-dimensional discrete biased Fourier quantum walk to design a pseudo-random number generator that produces highly random and sensitive secret keys. Additionally, we develop an addition-crossover structure to create a novel permutation strategy for shuffling the pixel positions of the plain image. To further strengthen the security of the disordered image, we establish a dynamic DNA shift encoding as a diffusion technique to complete the image encryption. A series of experiments was conducted to validate the performance of the proposed encryption mechanism in terms of security and attack resistance. The results confirm that our scheme is reliable and offers distinct advantages over existing quantum-based and other leading encryption methods.