Printed document integrity verification using barcode

Printed documents are still relevant in our daily life and information in it must be protected from threats and attacks such as forgery, falsification or unauthorized modification. Such threats make the document lose its integrity and authenticity. There are several techniques that have been proposed and used to ensure authenticity and originality of printed documents. But some of the techniques are not suitable for public use due to its complexity, hard to obtain special materials to secure the document and expensive. This paper discuss several techniques for printed document security such as watermarking and barcode as well as the usability of two dimensional barcode in document authentication and data compression with the barcode. A conceptual solution that are simple and efficient to secure the integrity and document sender's authenticity is proposed that uses two dimensional barcode to carry integrity and authenticity information in the document. The information stored in the barcode contains digital signature that provides sender's authenticity and hash value that can ensure the integrity of the printed document

High Capacity Analog Channels for Smart Documents

Widely-used valuable hardcopy documents such as passports, visas, driving licenses, educational certificates, entrance-passes for entertainment events etc. are conventionally protected against counterfeiting and data tampering attacks by applying analog security technologies (e.g. KINEGRAMS®, holograms, micro-printing, UV/IR inks etc.). How-ever, easy access to high quality, low price modern desktop publishing technology has left most of these technologies ineffective, giving rise to high quality false documents. The higher price and restricted usage are other drawbacks of the analog document pro-tection techniques. Digital watermarking and high capacity storage media such as IC-chips, optical data stripes etc. are the modern technologies being used in new machine-readable identity verification documents to ensure contents integrity; however, these technologies are either expensive or do not satisfy the application needs and demand to look for more efficient document protection technologies. In this research three different high capacity analog channels: high density data stripe (HD-DataStripe), data hiding in printed halftone images (watermarking), and super-posed constant background grayscale image (CBGI) are investigated for hidden com-munication along with their applications in smart documents. On way to develop high capacity analog channels, noise encountered from printing and scanning (PS) process is investigated with the objective to recover the digital information encoded at nearly maximum channel utilization. By utilizing noise behaviour, countermeasures against the noise are taken accordingly in data recovery process. HD-DataStripe is a printed binary image similar to the conventional 2-D barcodes (e.g. PDF417), but it offers much higher data storage capacity and is intended for machine-readable identity verification documents. The capacity offered by the HD-DataStripe is sufficient to store high quality biometric characteristics rather than extracted templates, in addition to the conventional bearer related data contained in a smart ID-card. It also eliminates the need for central database system (except for backup record) and other ex-pensive storage media, currently being used. While developing novel data-reading tech-nique for HD-DataStripe, to count for the unavoidable geometrical distortions, registra-tion marks pattern is chosen in such a way so that it results in accurate sampling points (a necessary condition for reliable data recovery at higher data encoding-rate). For more sophisticated distortions caused by the physical dot gain effects (intersymbol interfer-ence), the countermeasures such as application of sampling theorem, adaptive binariza-tion and post-data processing, each one of these providing only a necessary condition for reliable data recovery, are given. Finally, combining the various filters correspond-ing to these countermeasures, a novel Data-Reading technique for HD-DataStripe is given. The novel data-reading technique results in superior performance than the exist-ing techniques, intended for data recovery from printed media. In another scenario a small-size HD-DataStripe with maximum entropy is used as a copy detection pattern by utilizing information loss encountered at nearly maximum channel capacity. While considering the application of HD-DataStripe in hardcopy documents (contracts, official letters etc.), unlike existing work [Zha04], it allows one-to-one contents matching and does not depend on hash functions and OCR technology, constraints mainly imposed by the low data storage capacity offered by the existing analog media. For printed halftone images carrying hidden information higher capacity is mainly attributed to data-reading technique for HD-DataStripe that allows data recovery at higher printing resolution, a key requirement for a high quality watermarking technique in spatial domain. Digital halftoning and data encoding techniques are the other factors that contribute to data hiding technique given in this research. While considering security aspects, the new technique allows contents integrity and authenticity verification in the present scenario in which certain amount of errors are unavoidable, restricting the usage of existing techniques given for digital contents. Finally, a superposed constant background grayscale image, obtained by the repeated application of a specially designed small binary pattern, is used as channel for hidden communication and it allows up to 33 pages of A-4 size foreground text to be encoded in one CBGI. The higher capacity is contributed from data encoding symbols and data reading technique

Digital video watermarking techniques for secure multimedia creation and delivery.

Chan Pik-Wah.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-130).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Abstract --- p.iAcknowledgement --- p.ivChapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- Research Objective --- p.3Chapter 1.3 --- Contributions --- p.4Chapter 1.4 --- The Structure of this Thesis --- p.6Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.7Chapter 2.1 --- Security in Multimedia Communications --- p.8Chapter 2.2 --- Cryptography --- p.11Chapter 2.3 --- Digital Watermarking --- p.14Chapter 2.4 --- Essential Ingredients for Video Watermarking --- p.16Chapter 2.4.1 --- Fidelity --- p.16Chapter 2.4.2 --- Robustness --- p.17Chapter 2.4.3 --- Use of Keys --- p.19Chapter 2.4.4 --- Blind Detection --- p.20Chapter 2.4.5 --- Capacity and Speed --- p.20Chapter 2.4.6 --- Statistical Imperceptibility --- p.21Chapter 2.4.7 --- Low Error Probability --- p.21Chapter 2.4.8 --- Real-time Detector Complexity --- p.21Chapter 2.5 --- Review on Video Watermarking Techniques --- p.22Chapter 2.5.1 --- Video Watermarking --- p.25Chapter 2.5.2 --- Spatial Domain Watermarks --- p.26Chapter 2.5.3 --- Frequency Domain Watermarks --- p.30Chapter 2.5.4 --- Watermarks Based on MPEG Coding Struc- tures --- p.35Chapter 2.6 --- Comparison between Different Watermarking Schemes --- p.38Chapter 3 --- Novel Watermarking Schemes --- p.42Chapter 3.1 --- A Scene-based Video Watermarking Scheme --- p.42Chapter 3.1.1 --- Watermark Preprocess --- p.44Chapter 3.1.2 --- Video Preprocess --- p.46Chapter 3.1.3 --- Watermark Embedding --- p.48Chapter 3.1.4 --- Watermark Detection --- p.50Chapter 3.2 --- Theoretical Analysis --- p.52Chapter 3.2.1 --- Performance --- p.52Chapter 3.2.2 --- Capacity --- p.56Chapter 3.3 --- A Hybrid Watermarking Scheme --- p.60Chapter 3.3.1 --- Visual-audio Hybrid Watermarking --- p.61Chapter 3.3.2 --- Hybrid Approach with Different Water- marking Schemes --- p.69Chapter 3.4 --- A Genetic Algorithm-based Video Watermarking Scheme --- p.73Chapter 3.4.1 --- Watermarking Scheme --- p.75Chapter 3.4.2 --- Problem Modelling --- p.76Chapter 3.4.3 --- Chromosome Encoding --- p.79Chapter 3.4.4 --- Genetic Operators --- p.80Chapter 4 --- Experimental Results --- p.85Chapter 4.1 --- Test on Robustness --- p.85Chapter 4.1.1 --- Experiment with Frame Dropping --- p.87Chapter 4.1.2 --- Experiment with Frame Averaging and Sta- tistical Analysis --- p.89Chapter 4.1.3 --- Experiment with Lossy Compression --- p.90Chapter 4.1.4 --- Test of Robustness with StirMark 4.0 --- p.92Chapter 4.1.5 --- Overall Comparison --- p.98Chapter 4.2 --- Test on Fidelity --- p.100Chapter 4.2.1 --- Parameter(s) Setting --- p.101Chapter 4.2.2 --- Evaluate with PSNR --- p.101Chapter 4.2.3 --- Evaluate with MAD --- p.102Chapter 4.3 --- Other Features of the Scheme --- p.105Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusion --- p.106Chapter 5 --- Conclusion --- p.108Bibliography --- p.11

Steganography-based secret and reliable communications: Improving steganographic capacity and imperceptibility

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Unlike encryption, steganography hides the very existence of secret information rather than hiding its meaning only. Image based steganography is the most common system used since digital images are widely used over the Internet and Web. However, the capacity is mostly limited and restricted by the size of cover images. In addition, there is a tradeoff between both steganographic capacity and stego image quality. Therefore, increasing steganographic capacity and enhancing stego image quality are still challenges, and this is exactly our research main aim. Related to this, we also investigate hiding secret information in communication protocols, namely Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message, rather than in conventional digital files. To get a high steganographic capacity, two novel steganography methods were proposed. The first method was based on using 16x16 non-overlapping blocks and quantisation table for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression instead of 8x8. Then, the quality of JPEG stego images was enhanced by using optimised quantisation tables instead of the default tables. The second method, the hybrid method, was based on using optimised quantisation tables and two hiding techniques: JSteg along with our first proposed method. To increase the steganographic capacity, the impact of hiding data within image chrominance was investigated and explained. Since peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is extensively used as a quality measure of stego images, the reliability of PSNR for stego images was also evaluated in the work described in this thesis. Finally, to eliminate any detectable traces that traditional steganography may leave in stego files, a novel and undetectable steganography method based on SOAP messages was proposed. All methods proposed have been empirically validated as to indicate their utility and value. The results revealed that our methods and suggestions improved the main aspects of image steganography. Nevertheless, PSNR was found not to be a reliable quality evaluation measure to be used with stego image. On the other hand, information hiding in SOAP messages represented a distinctive way for undetectable and secret communication.The Ministry of Higher Education in Syria and the University of Alepp

Steganography-based secret and reliable communications : improving steganographic capacity and imperceptibility

Unlike encryption, steganography hides the very existence of secret information rather than hiding its meaning only. Image based steganography is the most common system used since digital images are widely used over the Internet and Web. However, the capacity is mostly limited and restricted by the size of cover images. In addition, there is a tradeoff between both steganographic capacity and stego image quality. Therefore, increasing steganographic capacity and enhancing stego image quality are still challenges, and this is exactly our research main aim. Related to this, we also investigate hiding secret information in communication protocols, namely Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message, rather than in conventional digital files. To get a high steganographic capacity, two novel steganography methods were proposed. The first method was based on using 16x16 non-overlapping blocks and quantisation table for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression instead of 8x8. Then, the quality of JPEG stego images was enhanced by using optimised quantisation tables instead of the default tables. The second method, the hybrid method, was based on using optimised quantisation tables and two hiding techniques: JSteg along with our first proposed method. To increase the steganographic capacity, the impact of hiding data within image chrominance was investigated and explained. Since peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is extensively used as a quality measure of stego images, the reliability of PSNR for stego images was also evaluated in the work described in this thesis. Finally, to eliminate any detectable traces that traditional steganography may leave in stego files, a novel and undetectable steganography method based on SOAP messages was proposed. All methods proposed have been empirically validated as to indicate their utility and value. The results revealed that our methods and suggestions improved the main aspects of image steganography. Nevertheless, PSNR was found not to be a reliable quality evaluation measure to be used with stego image. On the other hand, information hiding in SOAP messages represented a distinctive way for undetectable and secret communication.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceMinistry of Higher Education in SyriaUniversity of AleppoGBUnited Kingdo

Steganography-based secret and reliable communications : improving steganographic capacity and imperceptibility

Unlike encryption, steganography hides the very existence of secret information rather than hiding its meaning only. Image based steganography is the most common system used since digital images are widely used over the Internet and Web. However, the capacity is mostly limited and restricted by the size of cover images. In addition, there is a tradeoff between both steganographic capacity and stego image quality. Therefore, increasing steganographic capacity and enhancing stego image quality are still challenges, and this is exactly our research main aim. Related to this, we also investigate hiding secret information in communication protocols, namely Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message, rather than in conventional digital files. To get a high steganographic capacity, two novel steganography methods were proposed. The first method was based on using 16x16 non-overlapping blocks and quantisation table for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression instead of 8x8. Then, the quality of JPEG stego images was enhanced by using optimised quantisation tables instead of the default tables. The second method, the hybrid method, was based on using optimised quantisation tables and two hiding techniques: JSteg along with our first proposed method. To increase the steganographic capacity, the impact of hiding data within image chrominance was investigated and explained. Since peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is extensively used as a quality measure of stego images, the reliability of PSNR for stego images was also evaluated in the work described in this thesis. Finally, to eliminate any detectable traces that traditional steganography may leave in stego files, a novel and undetectable steganography method based on SOAP messages was proposed. All methods proposed have been empirically validated as to indicate their utility and value. The results revealed that our methods and suggestions improved the main aspects of image steganography. Nevertheless, PSNR was found not to be a reliable quality evaluation measure to be used with stego image. On the other hand, information hiding in SOAP messages represented a distinctive way for undetectable and secret communication.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceMinistry of Higher Education in SyriaUniversity of AleppoGBUnited Kingdo

ID Photograph hashing : a global approach

This thesis addresses the question of the authenticity of identity photographs, part of the documents required in controlled access. Since sophisticated means of reproduction are publicly available, new methods / techniques should prevent tampering and unauthorized reproduction of the photograph. This thesis proposes a hashing method for the authentication of the identity photographs, robust to print-and-scan. This study focuses also on the effects of digitization at hash level. The developed algorithm performs a dimension reduction, based on independent component analysis (ICA). In the learning stage, the subspace projection is obtained by applying ICA and then reduced according to an original entropic selection strategy. In the extraction stage, the coefficients obtained after projecting the identity image on the subspace are quantified and binarized to obtain the hash value. The study reveals the effects of the scanning noise on the hash values of the identity photographs and shows that the proposed method is robust to the print-and-scan attack. The approach focusing on robust hashing of a restricted class of images (identity) differs from classical approaches that address any imageCette thèse traite de la question de l’authenticité des photographies d’identité, partie intégrante des documents nécessaires lors d’un contrôle d’accès. Alors que les moyens de reproduction sophistiqués sont accessibles au grand public, de nouvelles méthodes / techniques doivent empêcher toute falsification / reproduction non autorisée de la photographie d’identité. Cette thèse propose une méthode de hachage pour l’authentification de photographies d’identité, robuste à l’impression-lecture. Ce travail met ainsi l’accent sur les effets de la numérisation au niveau de hachage. L’algorithme mis au point procède à une réduction de dimension, basée sur l’analyse en composantes indépendantes (ICA). Dans la phase d’apprentissage, le sous-espace de projection est obtenu en appliquant l’ICA puis réduit selon une stratégie de sélection entropique originale. Dans l’étape d’extraction, les coefficients obtenus après projection de l’image d’identité sur le sous-espace sont quantifiés et binarisés pour obtenir la valeur de hachage. L’étude révèle les effets du bruit de balayage intervenant lors de la numérisation des photographies d’identité sur les valeurs de hachage et montre que la méthode proposée est robuste à l’attaque d’impression-lecture. L’approche suivie en se focalisant sur le hachage robuste d’une classe restreinte d’images (d’identité) se distingue des approches classiques qui adressent une image quelconqu