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The method combines a two-dimensional dynamically coupled map lattice (2D DCML) with elementary cellular automata (ECA) to construct a heterogeneous chaotic system with strong spatiotemporal complexity. To further enhance nonlinearity and diffusion, a multi-source perturbation mechanism and adaptive DNA encoding strategy are introduced. These components work together to obscure the image structure, pixel correlations, and histogram characteristics. By embedding spatial and temporal symmetry into the coupled lattice evolution and perturbation processes, the proposed method ensures a more uniform and balanced transformation of image data. Meanwhile, the method enhances the confusion and diffusion effects by utilizing the principle of symmetric perturbation, thereby improving the overall security of the system. Experimental evaluations on standard images demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves high encryption quality in terms of histogram uniformity, information entropy, NPCR, UACI, and key sensitivity tests. It also shows strong resistance to chosen plaintext attacks, confirming its robustness for secure image transmission.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym17071042","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]],"date-time":"2025-07-02T06:46:12Z","timestamp":1751438772000},"page":"1042","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["A CML-ECA Chaotic Image Encryption System Based on Multi-Source Perturbation Mechanism and Dynamic DNA Encoding"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xin","family":"Xie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Information Science and Technology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9195-8000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Information Science and Technology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bing","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hainan Engineering Research Center for Virtual Reality Technology and Systems, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Ning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Information Science and Technology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Information Science and Technology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Information Science and Technology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhengyu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5823","DOI":"10.1007\/s00500-021-06567-7","article-title":"Image encryption algorithm based on genetic operations and chaotic DNA encoding","volume":"26","author":"Qobbi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Soft Comput."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18545","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-022-14175-2","article-title":"Image encryption algorithm using dynamic permutation and large chaotic S-box","volume":"82","author":"Qobbi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Multimed. 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