A Novel Multi-Wing Chaotic System with Hidden Attractors and its Application in Image Encryption

Abstract Compared to digital objects such as speech and text, images have rich information and are widely used in fields such as healthcare and surveillance. With the increasing demand for digital image security, image encryption algorithms based on chaotic systems have attracted widespread attention. However, existing algorithms still have problems such as weak chaotic performance, low security, and limited practicality. Therefore, a new image encryption algorithm based on a novel multi-wing chaotic system with hidden attractors is proposed in this paper. Based on a two-wing chaotic system, a new multi-wing chaotic system with hidden attractors is constructed by introducing a nonlinear function. Through rigorous theoretical analyses and numerical simulations, it is verified that the system has rich dynamics with high complexity and unpredictability. On this basis, a new image encryption algorithm containing a diversified scrambling method and a parity coordinate-based diffusion method is designed. Through detailed simulation experiments and performance analyses, this encryption algorithm exhibits excellent resistance to statistical and brute-force attacks, along with outstanding robustness, which demonstrates its significant advantages and application potential in the field of image encryption.