Cryptographic Image Security Using AES-XOR Approach

The primary objective of this project is to enhance the security of digital images transmitted over open networks by addressing privacy risks through cryptographic techniques. Recent image encryption methods, such as chaotic-based algorithms, permutation techniques, and DNA coding, have shown promise but face significant challenges. These include limited key sensitivity, computational inefficiency, pattern retention in encrypted images, and susceptibility to cryptanalytic attacks like brute force and differential analysis. To address these issues, this project proposes a dual-layer encryption approach combining the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm and a randomized AES-compatible key generator. In the first step, the AES algorithm is applied to the plain image, creating a strong initial encryption layer. Next, an AES-compatible key generator produces a randomized key, which is used in an XOR operation to add an additional layer of security. This two-step process ensures that encrypted images exhibit highly randomized outputs, with histograms that differ significantly from the original images, thus eliminating statistical patterns and mitigating statistical attacks. The proposed encryption method successfully enhances security by producing highly randomized encryption results, with the histogram of the encrypted image differing significantly from that of the original image. This dual-layered approach to encryption demonstrates robustness against conventional decryption attempts and strengthens the data integrity of the encrypted images.