A Novel Image Encryption Scheme Based on Memristive Hyperchaotic System and DNA Dynamic Coding
Haobin Feng, Yuming Feng · International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos · 2026
To achieve more secure image protection during digital image transmission, this paper proposes an image encryption scheme based on a four-dimensional memristive hyperchaotic system and dynamic DNA coding. First, by introducing a flux-controlled memristor into the classical Lorenz system, a four-dimensional memristive hyperchaotic system with two positive Lyapunov exponents is constructed. Then, its dynamical behavior is analyzed, confirming that the system exhibits complex and rich hyperchaotic characteristics. Based on the hyperchaotic sequences generated from this system, a block-level dynamic DNA encryption framework is developed, in which chaotic outputs are used to adaptively control DNA encoding rules, operation modes, and decoding strategies. During the encryption process, image pixels are encoded into DNA sequences and undergo dynamic DNA operations, including addition, subtraction, and XOR, with a random matrix generated by a composite chaotic system. To further enhance the confusion and diffusion capability, the proposed scheme also incorporates inter-block chaining diffusion, global permutation, and final bidirectional diffusion. Experimental results show that the encrypted images exhibit uniform histogram distributions, near-zero adjacent-pixel correlations, information entropy values close to the theoretical maximum of 8, satisfactory computational efficiency, and high resistance to differential attacks. In addition, the proposed scheme demonstrates strong key sensitivity and robustness against known-plaintext and chosen-plaintext attacks. These results indicate that the proposed method can effectively combine memristive hyperchaotic dynamics with flexible DNA-based cryptographic operations, providing a promising framework for secure image protection.