Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
APPLIED SOFT COMPUTING JOURNAL, sa.199, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Designing cryptographically robust substitution boxes (S-Boxes) for image encryption requires chaotic maps with superior dynamical complexity, a challenge that remains insufficiently addressed by existing heuristic hybrid systems. To overcome this limitation, we propose a two-dimensional ZST chaotic map, constructed through an asymmetric and ABC-optimized fusion of the Zettle and Styblinski–Tang maps. Building on this framework, the optimized chaotic map is leveraged, in conjunction with the ABC algorithm, to enhance the S-Box design. The resulting optimized components are then seamlessly integrated into a unified and robust image encryption scheme, termed 2DZST-IE. Comprehensive dynamical analysis confirms the exceptional chaotic behavior of the optimized 2D ZST map, as evidenced by high Lyapunov exponents exceeding 16 and successful validation using the NIST statistical test suite. The designed S-Boxexhibits excellent cryptographic performance, achieving high nonlinearity, a near-ideal strict avalanche criterion, and complete elimination of fixed points. Furthermore, the proposed encryption scheme demonstrates strong practical security, attaining NPCR and UACI values close to their theoretical optima, along with high robustness against cropping and noise-based attacks. Overall, this work moves beyond conventional parameter tuning and heuristic coupling, introducing an ABC-driven structural discovery of an asymmetric chaotic architecture. This approach fundamentally improves cryptographic performance and provides a verifiable advance in chaos-based cipher design.