Novel single-channel color image encryption algorithm based on chaos and fractional Fourier transform

A new color image encryption algorithm based on fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) and chaos is proposed. The colors of the original color image are converted to HSI (hue-saturation-intensity), and the S component is transformed by the random-phase encoding based on FrFT to obtain a new random phase. The I component is transformed by double random-phase encoding based on FrFT using the H component and the new random phase as two phase plates. Then chaos scrambling technology is used to encrypt the image, which makes the resulting image nonlinear and disorder both in spatial domain and frequency domain. Additionally, the ciphertext is not a color image but a combination of a gray image and a phase matrix, so the ciphertext has camouflage property to some extent. The results of numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness and the security of this algorithm.

Research highlights
► The original color image is encrypted in the HSI space instead of the RGB space.
► The proposed scheme is implemented in a single-channel way.
► FrFT and chaos theory are combined in the encryption algorithm.
► The ciphertext is nonlinear and disorder both in spatial and in frequency domains.