Secure Image Encryption using Unrestricted Arnold Map and Logistic Map

The rapid growth of digital communication and the intricacies of cyberattacks in the contemporary world necessitate the development of more evolved, intelligent cryptographic architectures capable of ensuring data confidentiality, integrity, and resistance. This paper introduces Endcrypt™, a new hybrid cryptographic architecture that combines chaotic dynamical systems with metaheuristically optimized selective ensemble learning for furthering multimedia encryption. The scheme employs three nonlinear chaotic mappings—Unrestricted Arnold Cat Map (UACM), Logistic Map, and Sine Map—each offering distinct cryptographic primitives. The UACM realizes pixel permutation in space for high confusion levels, whereas the Logistic and Sine mappings achieve high-entropy pseudo-random numbers that are utilized to realize pixel intensity substitution and dynamic key scheduling, which significantly enhances diffusion and key sensitivity. To make them more resistant to cryptanalysis, selective ensemble learning models are merged and optimized with metaheuristic algorithms such as genetic algorithms or particle swarm optimization in an effort to facilitate adaptive decision-making during ciphertext generation and overall entropy. The system architecture of the suggested system can withstand high scalability, key space increase, and immunity against frequent attacks such as statistical, differential, and brute-force attacks. A bibliometric analysis is conducted for plotting the research landscape of machine intelligence in cryptography and chaos cryptosystems, identifying current trends and future research directions. Experimental results confirm the efficacy of Endcrypt™ with Shannon entropy measures of 7.9973, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of over 45 dB for lossless decryption, and correlation coefficients of less than 0.0052, verifying the low pixel predictability. These results render Encrypt™ a highperformance, secure encryption solution dedicated to security-critical applications such as medical imaging, defence communications, and digital rights management.