A Unified Hybrid Cryptographic Framework for Secure Multimedia Encryption using RSA and AES

Abstract

Encryption schemes are traditionally subject to trade-offs regarding speed and security.
Symmetric encryption, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), has high
throughput but lacks secure key distribution. In contrast, asymmetric encryption methods,
like RSA, are slow and have a computational overhead to secure the key exchange. In this
thesis, I provide a single hybrid encryption framework that combines AES and RSA to
secure multimedia content, including text, images, audio, and video. The model mitigates
the deficiencies of traditional encryption schemes, such as long processing times, by
applying adaptive (low-latency/fast-speed) encryption approaches that align with real-time
environments. Notable experimental results showed that high-lossless fidelity and efficient
encryption were achieved compared to existing models, including AES-only models and the
ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption model. Statistical testing of the results using the Goodness
of FIT Test (Shapiro-Wilk) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated the strength of
the provided framework as a promising alternative. The research provides an overview of
hardware performance assessment and transaction times. Finally, within the thesis, a
comparative analysis was made to suggest that the model provided superior encryption
characteristics concerning scalability of existing models, security, and multimedia formats.