Block mapping and dual-matrix-based watermarking for image authentication with self-recovery capability

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Digital Image Processing

Background:

• Digital images are vulnerable to malicious tampering during internet transmission.
• Existing image authentication methods often lack robust recovery capabilities and accurate detection for extensive tampering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved image authentication scheme with self-recovery capabilities.
• To enhance both tamper detection accuracy and the performance of image recovery.

Main Methods:

• A block mapping and dual-matrix-based watermarking scheme is proposed.
• Authentication data is generated using the Authentication Feature Composition Calculation algorithm.
• Recovery data includes self-recovery bits (Set Partition in Hierarchical Trees) and mapped-recovery bits (Rehashing Model-based Block Mapping).

Main Results:

• The proposed scheme significantly improves recovery performance and extends the tamper rate limitation to 90%.
• Achieved desirable image quality above 40 dB and a large watermark payload up to 3.169 bits per pixel (bpp).
• Demonstrated effective resistance against copy-move and collage attacks.

Conclusions:

• The developed scheme offers a robust solution for image authentication with self-recovery.
• It outperforms existing methods in handling extensive image tampering and maintaining data integrity.