Encryption algorithm for securing non-disclosure agreements in outsourcing offshore software maintenance

Abstract

Properly created and securely communicated, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) can resolve most of the common disputes related to outsourcing of offshore software maintenance (OSMO). Occasionally, these NDAs are in the form of images. Since the work is done offshore, these agreements or images must be shared through the Internet or stored over the cloud. The breach of privacy, on the other hand, is a potential threat for the image owners as both the Internet and cloud servers are not void of danger. This article proposes a novel algorithm for securing the NDAs in the form of images. As an agreement is signed between the two parties, it will be encrypted before sending to the cloud server or travelling through the public network, the Internet. As the image is input to the algorithm, its pixels would be scrambled through the set of randomly generated rectangles for an arbitrary amount of time. The confusion effects have been realized through an XOR operation between the confused image, and chaotic data. Besides, 5D multi-wing hyperchaotic system has been employed to spawn the chaotic vectors due to good properties of chaoticity it has. The machine experimentation and the security analysis through a comprehensive set of validation metric vividly demonstrate the robustness, defiance to the multifarious threats and the prospects for some real-world application of the proposed encryption algorithm for the NDA images.