Security of fragile authentication watermarks with localization

In this paper, we study the security of fragile image authentication watermarks that can localize tampered areas. We start by comparing the goals, capabilities, and advantages of image authentication based on watermarking and cryptography. Then we point out some common security problems of current fragile authentication watermarks with localization and classify attacks on authentication watermarks into five categories. By investigating the attacks and vulnerabilities of current schemes, we propose a variation of the Wong scheme¹⁸ that is fast, simple, cryptographically secure, and resistant to all known attacks, including the Holliman-Memon attack⁹. In the new scheme, a special symmetry structure in the logo is used to authenticate the block content, while the logo itself carries information about the block origin (block index, the image index or time stamp, author ID, etc.). Because the authentication of the content and its origin are separated, it is possible to easily identify swapped blocks between images and accurately detect cropped areas, while being able to accurately localize tampered pixels.