Enhanced image hash using cellular automata with sponge construction and elliptic curve cryptography for secure image transaction

With the rapid development of digital communications, sensitive digital storage security, especially that of images, remains a significant challenge. Most of the existing hash algorithms cannot meet the requirements of security, efficiency, and adaptability in cryptographic applications based on an image. We will fill this critical gap by proposing a new hybrid hash algorithm integrating three powerful cryptographic concepts: Cellular Automata (CA), sponge functions, and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). We use the fact that CA is naturally unpredictable and has a high entropy to improve its diffusion properties. This makes it less vulnerable to differential cryptanalysis. The sponge construction allows for variable-length input handling with fixed-length output, ensuring scalability for diverse image data sizes. Last but not least, elliptic curve operations add more layers of collision resistance and nonlinearity to make the cryptography even more resistant to preimage and collision attacks. The novelty of this work is that it creates synergy between the CA's chaotic behaviour, the flexibility of sponge functions, and the lightweight but powerful security of ECC, resulting in a hash algorithm that is both secure and efficient. This hybrid design is especially suitable for lightweight cryptographic scenarios where the traditional methods fall short. The proposed scheme provides a viable platform for secure image transactions and holds excellent promise to resist advanced cryptanalytic attacks.