Separable Reversible Data Hiding in Encrypted Images for Remote Sensing Images

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Image Processing

Background:

• High security and effectiveness are crucial for transmitting sensitive data like satellite remote sensing and medical images.
• Existing methods often compromise image quality (lossy recovery) or embedding capacity to balance security and reversibility.
• Completely separable, reversible data hiding in encrypted image (SRDH-EI) algorithms are needed to address these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel SRDH-EI algorithm for secure and efficient data hiding in encrypted images.
• To achieve high embedding capacity (EC) and maintain image integrity and security during data transmission.
• To enable separate extraction of secret data and decryption of the cover image.

Main Methods:

• Preprocessing the cover image at the sender's end by compressing pre-embedded pixels and MSB using two coding methods.
• Embedding header data for marking and then embedding auxiliary and secret data in forward and reverse "Z" shapes before and after encryption.
• Utilizing pixel correlation at multiple positions within groups to enhance embedding capacity for remote sensing images.

Main Results:

• The algorithm achieved high embedding capacity (EC) for remote sensing images by leveraging pixel correlation.
• The data embedding process maintained the cover image's entropy, ensuring a high level of security.
• The receiver could extract secret data and decrypt the cover image separately without distortion, achieving complete separability.

Conclusions:

• The proposed SRDH-EI algorithm offers a robust solution for secure and reversible data hiding in encrypted images.
• The method demonstrates excellent performance in terms of embedding capacity and security, particularly for remote sensing images.
• The complete separability and distortion-free recovery make it a promising technique for practical applications.