A Novel Image Encryption Framework Using Multiple Chaotic Maps, Image Steganography and CNN Filters

A Novel Image Encryption Framework Using Multiple Chaotic Maps, Image Steganography and CNN Filters | 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 Novel Image Encryption Framework Using Multiple Chaotic Maps, Image Steganography and CNN Filters Ahmed Makram, Abeer Saber, Azhar. A. Hamdi, Rania A. Elsayed, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9260826/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 19 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Image encryption is paramount for safeguarding sensitive visual data from unauthorized access and ensuring privacy. By transforming images into unintelligible codes, encryption prevents the misuse or disclosure of confidential information. This paper introduces a novel paradigm for image coding that leverages chaotic maps and steganography to enhance security and privacy. The proposed system employs a two-step encryption process. First, the original image is concealed within another image (cover image) using the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). Second, a robust chaotic map is generated by combining different chaotic maps: a cosine-square logistic map is used to generate a variable key to create new chaotic maps. These enhanced chaotic map algorithms are then used to encrypt the DCT coefficients of the hidden image. To further improve the quality of the decrypted image, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with various filters are applied. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method through extensive numerical experiments on gray-scale images. By comparing our approach to established techniques like circular mapping, S-box, and S-box combined with Arnold transform, we show that our method offers superior security, low correlation coefficients, and excellent information entropy. We contrasted our approaches with well-established ones, such as circular mapping, the S-box, and the S-box combined with the Arnold Transform. The overall results indicate that the suggested method is superior to existing methods and that it has high security and low correlation coefficients. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Image Encryption-Decryption Skew tent map Piecewise Linear Chaotic Map CNNs median Filter gaussian Filter Chosen-plaintext attack Security analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Mar, 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. 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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-9260826","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628190918,"identity":"38a9c9c3-9504-4637-83bc-e68a1542d2bf","order_by":0,"name":"Ahmed Makram","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"1Department of Comunication, Air Defence College, Egyptian Military Academy, New Capital, 4804004,","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahmed","middleName":"","lastName":"Makram","suffix":""},{"id":628190919,"identity":"a5aef32a-c53b-4d8d-93da-3ea515f2e25a","order_by":1,"name":"Abeer Saber","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Damietta University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abeer","middleName":"","lastName":"Saber","suffix":""},{"id":628190920,"identity":"cc08507d-cdc3-45cc-8791-3cdb03ff0b62","order_by":2,"name":"Azhar. 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