Color image hiding based on the phase retrieval technique and Arnold transform

A new (to our knowledge) method is proposed in this paper for color image hiding and extracting using the phase retrieval algorithm in the fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) domain and Arnold transform (ART). Based on a cascaded phase iterative FRFT algorithm, the three channels (R, G, and B) of the secret color image permuted by ART are encrypted. Then the encoded information is embedded in the blue channel (B channel) of the enlarged color host image. Using the security enhanced encryption method, not only the random phase mask and the wavelength but also the transform parameters of ART and FRFT are provided as additional keys for decryption. It is shown that the security of information hiding will be enhanced. Computer simulations are performed to show the hiding capacity of the proposed system. Numerical results are presented to verify the validity and efficiency of the proposed method.