The Algebraic Structure of Elliptic Curves and its

Application in Image Encryption

Abdur Rehman
[email protected]

1 Abstract and Introduction

1.1 Abstract:
Image encryption is considered as one of the most significant techniques carried out for digital
security related applications. Several applications of algebraic methods are focus of recently pro-
posed image encryption schemes. One of such algebraic structures is that of an elliptic curve.
Precisely, if the elliptic curve over Galois field is considered, the elliptic group is an example of
the strongest algebraic structure which is extensively used in public key cryptography due to the
complex arithmetic of points addition and points doubling. The purpose of this research project
is to use the characteristics that define such a mathematical structure in the process of encrypting
images. To do this, we investigate the creation of a particular elliptic curve with a specific number
of points lying on the curve. The features of the image encryption methodology are also thoroughly
analyzed.

1.2 Introduction
The aim of this section is to give a short introduction to the techniques related to our research
work, I have done in MS . Security is an important in protecting data against outsider. One of the
most essential methods for make certain data secrecy is cryptography. The study of cryptography is
essential because unsecured network make data transference and the make a move of information
easily affected by data theft and attack via an open channel. This makes it necessary to learn
cryptography, in this era, cryptographic techniques are used to secure our communication when
we in contact with others publicly. Cryptography plays a vital role to make our discussion secure
when we conveying trough any insecure medium like internet etc. Cryptography is the science of
secret writing which is widely used to hide our information which we don’t want to share with
others except the relevant person during liaise.

1.2.1 Types of Cryptography

Mainly, we classified cryptography into types which are symmetric key and asymmetric key
cryptography. Only one key is used in the symmetric key cryptographic process to convert simple-
text into ciphertext and the encrypted text back into simpletext. In asymmetric key cryptography
a pair of keys is used one key is to convert plaintext into ciphertext that is known as public key while
the other key is used for the transformation of encrypted text into plaintext that is called private
key. All the cryptographic algorithms until 1976 were based on the symmetric key cryptography.

1.2.2 symmetric-key cryptography

In symmetric-key cryptography there are two techniques are used to convert the plaintext into
ciphertext
• steam ciphers • block ciphers
• Stream ciphers are comprehensible, encrypt bits separately and fast to tackle. They provide
permission to someone, to very fast encryption of large amounts of data, so they are suited to real-
time audio and video signals. In addition there is no error propagation, if a single bit of ciphertext

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gets deform during transportation (due to an attacker or a in penury radio signal) then only one
bit of the decrypted plaintext will be conspicuous.

• Block ciphers encrypt an unabridged block of plaintext bits at a time with the same key.
In this way we can say that the encryption of any plaintext bit in a given block be conditional
on every single other plaintext bit in the same block. In application, the extensive most of block
ciphers either have a block length of 128 bits (16 bytes) such as the advanced encryption standard
(AES), or a block length of 64 bits (8 bytes) such as the data encryption standard (DES) or triple
DES (3DES) algorithm.

1.2.3 Key Contraction

Key generator is an important part of the stream cipher system that is responsible for generating
an extensive random sequence of binary bits key that used in encyprtion and decryption processes.
Therefore, key generator is the central part of the stream cipher system. A structure with cus-
tomary key generating techniques such as using the feedback shift register is in jeopardy to cipher
attacks which provide it to be purposeless and insecure. The method is successful in fulfilling the
secrecy aim of the stream cipher system because it center to two types of dual randomization to
confuse the assailant or cryptanalysist.

1.2.4 Substitution box

There are several many techniques are used to set block ciphers one of them is Substitution Boxes.
Substitution box (S-box) is a essential nonlinear constituent for the security of cryptographic
schemes.
An S-box is a multi-valued Boolean function S:{0, 1}n → {0, 1}n maps n input into n output
variables. It is realized as vectorial Boolean function S(x) = (f1 (x), f2 (x), ..., fn (x)) where fi each
is a Boolean function comprising of the Boolean variables x1 , x2 ... , xn . In AES the S-box
S : {0, 1}8 → {0, 1}8 is constructed by substituting each element with its inverse and applying a
suitable affine transformation S(x) = (G◦L◦I)(x) = G(L(I(x)) = Ax−1 ⊕2b where A ∈ GL(8 , 2),
the general linear group of degree 8 over GF(2) and b ∈ Z28 .

1.2.5 Elliptic Curve Cryptography

The fundamental complication with S-box proposal is that there is no evident pattern in its cryp-
tographic properties.

Some of the more twenty-first-century’s public key structure make use of elliptic curves since they
can propose upgrade effectiveness and bandwidth. Elliptic curves were introduced in the mid-
of 1998s. Elliptic curves are also curves those are formed by a polynomial but for cryptographic
algorithms we define a special type of polynomial for elliptic curves not over a real field but on the
prime field where all the arithmetics are performed under modulo p.
Let Zp = {0, 1, 2, ..., p − 1} where p > 3 is a prime be a finite field. Then the elliptic curve over
Zp is the set
E = {(x, y) | x, y ∈ Zp which satisf ied y 2 ≡ x3 + ax + b mod p}
with the imaginary point Θ at infinity where a , b ∈ Zp which satisfied the discriminant condition
4a3 + 27b2 ̸= 0 mod p. Elliptic curves are also used in cryptographic algorithms. Elliptic curves
have gained attention in the field of number theory since last 120 years. The graphical represen-
tation of the elliptic curves do not represent an ellipse rather is used to calculate the perimeter
of the ellipse, that’s why it is called an elliptic curve and the curve is visually symmetric about
the x-axis. The spatial coordinates that define the rational points of the particular curve lie in
the first quadrant, and there is a symmetry connection between the rational points, Graphically
speaking an elliptic curve on a prime field is not a regular curve. In cryptography we do not need
the graphical representation of the elliptic curve, we only deals with the coordinates.

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1.2.6 Application Of Elliptic Curve
Cryptography also uses in image encryption techniques Several modern techniques for image en-
cryption process have been introduced in the past. In image encryption we convert the plain image
into cipher image using different techniques. Substitution boxes (S-boxes) play an important role
in image encryption strategies. By using S-boxes we can transform the plain image into the cipher
image, the technique which we are using to set the S-boxes should be invertible, otherwise the
decryption of that image is not possible. S-boxes in cryptography are used to increased the level
of confusion and diffusion in data. Using any one of the encryption techniques sender converts
the plain image into cipher image before share it with the relevant person through any unconfined
way. Then the receiver, receives the image in the form of cipher image and decrypt it by the use of
secret technique. In our research, we are interested to convert an original image into an encrypted
image using the algebraic characteristics related with the elliptic curves over Galois field. Actually
complex arithmetic of rational points on the elliptic curve has a high complexity due this reason
it produce a good algorithm that we use in image encryption.

1.2.7 Construction of Substitution Box

Our research work is related to symmetric key cryptography. In experimentation we encrypt an
image through an algorithm based on the complex arithmetic of the elliptic curves. To achieve
that target, it is necessary to know the back ground and fundamentals of cryptography. Also have
a short introduction to the cryptanalysis. We have to find rational points on a particular elliptic
curve over Galois Filed, we define the elementary of Galois field and its construction. The elliptic
curve must be nonsingular in nature, geometrically its mean that the curve has no self intersection.
The elliptic curve defined on the real field is symmetric about x-axis but the elliptic curve which
is defined on Galois field is not symmetric about x-axis, all the rational points on a specific elliptic
curve lie entirely in the first quadrant and has a symmetric structure of between the points.

The elliptic curve’s group, defined on a given Galois field is used in this research problem mainly for
its complex algebraic properties. The large number of points on an elliptic curve provide a perfect
platform for the construction of a larger cyclic group. When use inject confusion and diffusion
in the data using that structure it’s crucial to understand this cyclic group’s algebraic structure.
With the help of some more complex methods, possibly including chaos theory we aim to design a
more effective image encryption technique. We further aim to discuss the statistical analysis of the
proposed method and also compare the presented scheme with the most recent image encryption
techniques.

2 Research methodology
The research methodology used to work out the problem has these steps:
1. To achieve a deep and clear understanding of the algebraic properties of the Galois field.
2. To explore and study such elliptic curves defined on the above mentioned Galois filed that
have a large number of points.
3. To develop strong programming skills to perform calculations related with the project
4. To design the image encryption algorithm involving this elliptic curve.
5. To analyze and compare the image encryption technique with the recent models.
6. .To perform the arithmetic of points addition process by choosing a base point (the generator
of the elliptic group).

3 Thesis layout
1. Chapter 1 explains necessary details regarding the main objects of this thesis.
2. Chapter 2 deals with the basic concepts related with cryptography, Galois field and image
encryption etc.

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3. Chapter 3 deals with a detailed description of the research work. Our methods for construc-
tion of S-box, based on the elliptic curve over a finite field is presented.

4. Chapter 4 is on the application of constructed S-box in image encryption.