A Multi-Directional Pixel-Swapping Approach (MPSA) for Entropy-Retained Reversible Data Hiding in Encrypted Images

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Digital Image Processing

Background:

• Reversible data hiding (RDH) is crucial for secure data transmission in various fields.
• Existing RDH schemes often lack real-time capabilities and can compromise encrypted image security.
• There is a need for RDH solutions that balance payload capacity, computational efficiency, and security.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel RDH scheme, MPSA, suitable for real-time applications.
• To achieve high information embedding rates with minimal computational time.
• To enhance encrypted image security without altering image entropy.

Main Methods:

• The proposed scheme encrypts the cover image using a stream cipher and partitions it into blocks.
• Secret information is embedded into encrypted blocks using a controlled local pixel-swapping approach.
• The MPSA scheme allows hiding two bits per encrypted block.

Main Results:

• The MPSA scheme demonstrates a good compromise between embedding rate and computational time.
• The method effectively hides data while maintaining the original image quality and encrypted image entropy.
• Experimental results validate the scheme's competency in terms of payload and processing speed.

Conclusions:

• The MPSA scheme provides an effective solution for real-time reversible data hiding.
• It enhances data security by preserving the entropy of encrypted images.
• The proposed approach is suitable for applications requiring efficient and secure data embedding.