Chaotic encryption with different modes of operation based on Rubik’s cube for efficient wireless communication

A novel image encryption algorithm based on the Rubik’s cube scrambling is proposed in this paper to achieve simultaneous encryption of a group of images. This proposed encryption algorithm begins with chaotic Baker map permutation with a selected mode of operation or RC6 algorithm as a first step for encrypting the images, separately. After that, the obtained encrypted images are further encrypted in a second stage with Rubik’s cube. Chaotic or RC6 encrypted images are used as the faces of the Rubik’s cube. From the concepts of image encryption, the RC6 algorithm adds a degree of diffusion, while chaotic Baker map adds a degree of permutation. The Rubik’s cube algorithm adds more permutation to the encrypted images, simultaneously. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed encryption algorithm is efficient, and it exhibits strong robustness and security. The encrypted images are further transmitted over a wireless channel with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system, and decrypted at the receiver side. Evaluation of the quality of the decrypted images at the receiver side reveals good performance.