A novel, to the author’s knowledge, multiple color information
cryptosystem based on Hessenberg decomposition (HD)-modulated chaotic
and face biometric phase encoding is introduced. The face biometric
phase mask (FPM) and chaotic phase mask (CPM) are modulated by HD to
obtain an upper Hessenberg matrix, an upper triangular matrix, and two
unitary matrices for the first time. Each original color image is
decomposed into R, G, and B channels. Each channel is
individually modulated by an upper triangular matrix and two unitary
matrices. The upper Hessenberg matrix and modulated R, G, and B channels are inverse discrete wavelet
transformed to produce a fused image. In the same way, fused images
for multiple color images are generated and combined into a single
complex image, which is bonded with a first chaotic face biometric
phase mask (CFPM) and fractional Fourier transformed. The resultant
image is amplitude- and phase-truncated to generate the first common
decryption key and preliminary encrypted image. The encrypted image is
bonded with a second CFPM and fractional Fourier transformed. The
obtained image is amplitude- and phase-truncated to generate the
second common decryption key and final encrypted image. The proposed
method utilizes the fused image as a covered image to conceal the
modulated R, G, and B channels of each original color
image. Furthermore, six decryption keys (three matrix decryption keys,
one individual decryption key, two common decryption keys), and six
encryption keys (two CFPMs and four orders of fractional Fourier
transform) provide resistance against various types of potential
attacks. A hybrid optoelectronic system can be utilized to implement
the proposed cryptosystem. Numerical simulation results validate the
feasibility and efficiency of the proposed scheme.