Enhancing Security in UAV-Assisted Image Data Collection for the Internet of Things

The growing utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) across diverse industries has led to increased interest in UAV-assisted data acquisition for the Internet of Things (IoT). The security of image data collected by UAVs during transmission within the IoT has become a critical concern. This paper focuses on the security challenges associated with UAV-assisted image data collection in the IoT and presents a dedicated framework designed to enhance the security of this process. Given the high-resolution nature of UAV-captured images, traditional encryption methods face difficulties in directly and effectively encrypting such data. To address this issue, the paper introduces an efficient chaotic image encryption algorithm integrated into the proposed protection framework. The algorithm features a novel 1D chaotic system for generating effective chaotic sequences. For the scrambling phase, a chaotic four-spiral transformation method is employed, and the diffusion process utilizes the Fibonacci matrix. This strategic approach aims to minimize pixel correlation within the image, thereby bolstering the overall security of the encryption process. Experimental validation conducted on authentic UAV image datasets demonstrates the superior, practical, secure, and efficient characteristics of the proposed algorithm.