Novel image encryption algorithm based on cycle shift and chaotic system

•The original image is scrambled by chaotic sequence and random integer cycle shift.•The bits for cycle shift are random and the initial values for chaotic system are based on the scrambled image.•Cycle shift technology has these characteristics: it has simple principle; it is easy to implement; it has no limit to the size of image.•The randomness of cycle shift increases the non-randomness of transform which improved the algorithm’s anti attack ability.

In this paper, a novel image encryption algorithm is proposed. The cycle shift in bits of pixels and the chaotic system are employed for the encryption of the proposed scheme. For cycle shift operations, random integers with the same size of the original image are produced to scramble the plaintext image. Moreover, the scrambled image effects the initial values of the chaotic system for the further encryption process, which increases the sensitivity of plaintext images of the scheme. The scrambled image is encrypted into the ciphered image by the keys which are produced by the chaotic system. The simulation experiments and theoretical analyses indicate that the proposed scheme is superior and able to resist exhaustive attack and statistical attack.