Blind PDF Document Watermarking Robust Against PCA and ICA Attacks

Abstract

Spread Transform Dither Modulation (STDM) is a blind watermarking scheme used for its high robustness against re-quantization and random noise attacks. It has been applied mainly on images, speech, and PDF documents. The key of this scheme is the projection vector aiming at spreading the embedded message over a set of cover elements. However, it has been recently shown that such a key vector can be estimated thanks to Blind Source Separation (BSS) techniques, e.g. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). This security breach can be harnessed by an opponent to copy, remove, or modify the embedded watermark. In this position paper, a CAR-STDM (Component Analysis Resistant-STDM) is designed and its application on PDF documents is presented. The security is guaranteed by the use of a cryptographically secure number generator, preventing algebraic approaches (as BSS ones) from finding the key. First experimental results show that the Secure-STDM achieves the security against the aforementioned BSS techniques. It is further shown that CAR-STDM preserves its robustness against AWGN and Salt&Peper attacks, and keeps furthermore its transparency.

Blockchain-based PDF File Copyright Protection and Tracing

“…The hidden message is encoded within a series of characters, specifically within their x-coordinate values. However, Hatoum et al [14] subsequently highlighted the susceptibility of the STDM QIM technique and proposed enhancements to enhance its resistance against principal component analysis and independent component analysis. Kuribayash et al [15] introduced a methodology that integrates QIM with dither modulation (DM).…”