A Multimedia Encryption Scheme Based on a Lightweight Predator-Prey Simulation and Chaotic Dynamics

A Multimedia Encryption Scheme Based on a Lightweight Predator-Prey Simulation and Chaotic Dynamics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Multimedia Encryption Scheme Based on a Lightweight Predator-Prey Simulation and Chaotic Dynamics Rogelio Hasimoto-Beltran, Enya Tovar-Estrada This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271718/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Current encryption systems face increasing challenges from ever more sophisticated attacks, motivating the exploration of alternative schemes that offer stronger security and higher performance. In this work, we propose a dynamic multimedia encryption system based on a lightweight predator-prey simulation combined with chaotic dynamics. Our scheme extends the group chase-and-escape environment, in which prey and predators interact on a closed grid governed by predation and reproduction. Each prey is associated with a chaotic map that can be captured by predators in an unpredictable manner. As a result, the entropy of the system does not rely on a single map, but on the dynamical evolution of the chaotic-map population. When the prey population reaches a minimum threshold, a reproduction mechanism introduces new maps, ensuring continuous extinction and renewal while hindering any direct traceability of the chaotic sources. This process increases the variability and complexity of the system while maintaining a low computational cost. Experimental results show high randomness, strong information diffusion, and high key sensitivity, supporting the robustness of the proposed algorithm. In addition, our implementation achieves competitive performance, reaching encryption speeds of up to 1716 Mb/s. These results suggest that the proposed predator-prey chaos-based cipher is a promising alternative for high-throughput multimedia encryption and compressed-domain transmission. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Physical sciences/Physics Chaotic Cryptography Predator-Prey Model Group Chase-Escape Rényi Map Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 07 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9271718","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626104636,"identity":"207b5db5-2dc1-46a8-ae32-c709026c2ca2","order_by":0,"name":"Rogelio Hasimoto-Beltran","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAw0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAyA+AGLwMzA2kKTFgEGyAaQlgUgtYMoAbBcxWszZjz88dKPij5zx8cOtG37+YIiG6MUDLHtyDA7nnDEwNjuT2HazJ4Ehd2YDIYcdyGE4nNtmkLjtBmPbDR6gln5CDjM4//wBWMvmGYxtN/8AtbQR1HIjwQCsZYMEY9tt4my58QbkF2NjCaBfbsukSRDhl/Ppjz/nVMjJ8bcff3bzjY1N7oYDhKxBAxIkqh8Fo2AUjIJRgBUAAMaQR4oFh7ttAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Mathematics Research Center","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rogelio","middleName":"","lastName":"Hasimoto-Beltran","suffix":""},{"id":626104637,"identity":"5d6b88f8-b252-45ee-b06e-f71b8e6dffb7","order_by":1,"name":"Enya Tovar-Estrada","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mathematics Research Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Enya","middleName":"","lastName":"Tovar-Estrada","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-30 20:23:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271718/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271718/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107489439,"identity":"23f587af-7a9f-432e-8128-6c1f213b9561","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:47:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":10403222,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ScientificReportsPredatorPrey.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9271718/v1_covered_08ce5042-64f4-415c-9b9d-1927fee1f0d4.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A Multimedia Encryption Scheme Based on a Lightweight Predator-Prey Simulation and Chaotic Dynamics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Chaotic Cryptography, Predator-Prey Model, Group Chase-Escape, Rényi Map","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271718/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271718/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Current encryption systems face increasing challenges from ever more sophisticated attacks, motivating the exploration of alternative schemes that offer stronger security and higher performance. In this work, we propose a dynamic multimedia encryption system based on a lightweight predator-prey simulation combined with chaotic dynamics. Our scheme extends the group chase-and-escape environment, in which prey and predators interact on a closed grid governed by predation and reproduction. Each prey is associated with a chaotic map that can be captured by predators in an unpredictable manner. As a result, the entropy of the system does not rely on a single map, but on the dynamical evolution of the chaotic-map population. When the prey population reaches a minimum threshold, a reproduction mechanism introduces new maps, ensuring continuous extinction and renewal while hindering any direct traceability of the chaotic sources. This process increases the variability and complexity of the system while maintaining a low computational cost. Experimental results show high randomness, strong information diffusion, and high key sensitivity, supporting the robustness of the proposed algorithm. In addition, our implementation achieves competitive performance, reaching encryption speeds of up to 1716 Mb/s. 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