Parallel Image Encryption Algorithm Using Partitioned Cellular Automata on Graphic Processor Unit

Image encryption is a reliable method for securely transmitting images over a network. The time required to encrypt and decrypt an image in online applications is also very important. Although cellular automata cryptography is an appropriate technique for parallelizing and accelerating cryptographic methods, its capacity cannot be demonstrated only in multi-core platforms. Thus, it is needed to parallelize cellular automata cryptography on Graphic Processor Units (GPUs) in order to significantly decrease the encryption/decryption time. In this paper, we propose a new parallel algorithm for two-dimensional cellular automata cryptography that is implemented on GPU. The proposed algorithm uses multiple threads at once to accelerate the bit-level permutation and substitution operations by taking into account the capacity of cellular automata in parallel processing. According to the study experimental findings, the proposed algorithm performs faster on GPU compared to a multicore platform while maintaining the same level of security in comparison to the serial algorithm.