Automatic recovery of invisible image watermarks from geometrically distorted images

Gordon W. Braudaway; Frederick C. Mintzer

doi:10.1117/1.1287836

1 October 2000 Automatic recovery of invisible image watermarks from geometrically distorted images

Gordon W. Braudaway, Frederick C. Mintzer

Journal of Electronic Imaging, Vol. 9, Issue 4, (October 2000). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1287836

One method of attacking an imbedded invisible watermark is to create a derivative image that is geometrically distorted relative to the original. One attack, developed at Cambridge University, is called ‘‘StirMark.’’ 1 Image-distorting methods modify images so subtly that the changes are essentially unnoticeable to a viewer. However, their effect on invisible watermarks can be devastating, rendering them unextractable. In this paper, an automated countermeasure to image-distorting attacks will be described. Employing an unmarked copy of the original image as a reference, the possible distortion in a suspect image is first detected by the method, then measured, and finally reversed, producing a restored image approximately geometrically aligned with the original. Using a robust invisible watermarking method described previously by one of the authors to produce a watermarked image, ‘‘StirMark’’ to distort the watermarked image, and a copy of the original unmarked image for reference, the restoration method is demonstrated to be sufficient by showing successful extraction of the imbedded watermark from a restored image.

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Gordon W. Braudaway and Frederick C. Mintzer "Automatic recovery of invisible image watermarks from geometrically distorted images," Journal of Electronic Imaging 9(4), (1 October 2000). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1287836

Published: 1 October 2000

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