Copyright 2001 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper was (will be) published in RC21910 and is made available as an electronic reprint [preprint] with permission of SPIE. Single print or electronic copies for personal use only are allowed. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations through an electronic listserver or other electronic means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commericial purposes, or modification of the content of the pater are all prohibited. By choosing to view or print this document, you agree to all the provisions of the copyright law protecting it.
A secure Internet infrastructure and IBM image watermarking technology have been integrated for the production and authentication of duplication-resistant hard copy documents that may be transmitted to remote sites before being printed. Envisioned applications include the issuance of certificates, contracts, public records, receipts, coupons,...even college transcripts. Before issuing a document requested over a secure Internet connection, the unique textual content of the document and identifying information of the paper on which it will be printed are hashed using a secret cryptographic key, known only to an issuing authority, to produce a secure Message Authentication Code (MAC). A derived key produced from the MAC is used to generate a unique texture pattern, called an image watermark. The watermark is then imbedded into an image of the document by modulating the brightness of ist pixels. Lastly, the image is compressed and transmitted to a remote ink-jet or laser color printer. Later, document authentication is accomplished by scanning the printed document and transmitting the compressed scanned image to the issuing agent over the Internet. The agent then extracts the unique textual information using OCR, recalls the appropiate secret cryptographic key, and reconstructs the MAC and the derived watermarking texture pattern. Detection of the derived watermarks texture in the received image authenticates document content with a probability approaching certainty. If the unique information had been changed, we note, the rebuilt MAC would also have changed and the rebuilt derived watermark texture would differ from the inserted watermark texture. In this case the rebuilt derived watermark texture would not be found in the received document and the document content would not be authenticated. A special paper subtrate is used to resist document copying. Keywords: image security, document security, invisible watermarking, fingerprinting, remote printing, cryptograph
By: Gordon W. Braudaway, Fred Mintzer, John M. Socolofsky (IBM Global Services, Cranford, NJ), Chai Wah Wu
Published in: SPIE Proceedings, volume 4314, (no ), pages 351-9 in 2001
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