A 3D hybrid chaotic system for image steganography based on framelet and SVD

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
2 Department of Mathematics and Applications, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
3 Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
4 Depatment of Mathematics and Applications, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce an innovative steganography technique that employs discrete framelet transform coupled with singular value decomposition (SVD) for the purpose of embedding a color secret image inside a fractal-based cover image. The process utilizes an alpha scale factor, a crucial parameter that adjusts the level of embedding to ensure the secret image blends smoothly without compromising the visual quality of the fractal cover. To enhance resistance against possible targets, we have also designed a new shuffle operator to scramble pixels of the cover image. In addition, we have incorporated a 3D hybrid chaotic system which combines Tinkerbell, Gingerbreadman and Duffing chaos maps. The results of our experiments clearly show that our approach not only produces stego images with suitable quality, but also guarantees the security and resilience of the hidden image against different types of attacks.
Keywords

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Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 20 October 2026

  • Receive Date 19 December 2025
  • Revise Date 12 March 2026
  • Accept Date 30 June 2026