Hybrid Algorithm for Enhanced Watermark Security with Robust Detection

Abstract

A variety of imperceptible watermarking schemes have been proposed over the last few years. In general, publications on the subject tend to focus on the technical details of the specific scheme (increase of robustness, improvement of imperceptibility, etc.), paying little attention on the application scenarios where the proposed method could fit in. Most of the methods are said to be suitable for either copyright protection or authentication, i.e. for a single specific application with no investigation is done on the possibility of applying the same scheme to other applications as well. The main reason for this is that no attempt for a detailed and systematic listing and categorization of the existing application scenarios took place so far. A hybrid algorithm for printed image watermarking with enhanced security employing cryptographic techniques & robust detection with graceful degradation is developed & investigated. Robust detection is achieved by graceful degradation of the recovered image. Various types of attacks on watermark method image have been simulated & their resultant has been observed. Experimental results prove the security & robustness of the proposed algorithm.