While existing watermarking attack methods can disturb the correct extraction of watermark information, the visual quality of watermarked images will be greatly damaged. Therefore, a concealed attack based on generative adversarial network and perceptual losses for robust watermarking is proposed. First, the watermarked image is utilized as the input of generative networks, and its generating target (i.e. attacked watermarked image) is the original image. Inspired by the U-Net network, the generative networks consist of encoder-decoder architecture with skip connection, which can combine the low-level and high-level information to ensure the imperceptibility of the generated image. Next, to further improve the imperceptibility of the generated image, instead of the loss function based on MSE, a perceptual loss based on feature extraction is introduced. In addition, a discriminative network is also introduced to make the appearance and distribution of generated image similar to those of the original image. The addition of the discriminative network can remove watermark information effectively. Extensive experiments are conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed concealed attack method. Experimental and analysis results demonstrate that the proposed concealed attack method has better imperceptibility and attack ability in comparison to the existing watermarking attack methods.

An efficient predictor is crucial for high embedding capacity and low image distortion. In this letter, a ridge regression-based high precision error prediction algorithm for reversible data hiding is proposed. The ridge regression is a penalized least-square algorithm, which solves the overfitting problem of the least-square method. Reversible data hiding based on ridge regression predictor minimizes the residual sum of squares between predicted and target pixels subject to the constraint expressed in terms of the L2-norm. Compared to a least-square-based predictor, the ridge regression-based predictor can obtain more small prediction errors, proving that the proposed method has a higher accuracy. In addition, the eight neighbor pixels of the target pixels and their two different combinations are selected as training and support sets, respectively. This selection scheme further improves the prediction accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art adaptive reversible data hiding in terms of prediction accuracy and embedding performance.

Chaotic image encryption is widely used in the field of information security. This paper proposes a novel chaotic image encryption method with spiral-transform-based fractal sorting matrix (STFSM). First of all, the theory of STFSM with good scrambling effect is introduced, which has good irregularity and iterative. Then, the iterative algorithm and calculation example of STFSM are introduced. STFSM can be used as the map of spatial location transformations to implement the design of image encryption. Based on the complete STFSM theory and iterative algorithm, a chaotic image cryptosystem based on STFSM is proposed to achieve a good image encryption process. To test the security of the proposed algorithm, security tests and analyses such as entropy analysis, correlation analysis, resistance to differential attacks analysis, and robustness analysis are used for the proposed algorithm. The experimental analysis illustrates that the algorithm has a better encryption effect, whether using conventional tests or the attacks simulations described in this paper and can also effectively resist the attacks.

Light-field (LF) images contain rich visual information and have broader application scenarios than traditional images. However, their complex structure also makes their copyright protection more challenging. Currently, there are few watermarking schemes suitable for LF images, and most of them fail to restore the original image after embedding the watermark. In addition, geometric attacks remain a difficult problem in the field of LF image watermarking. In this study, we propose a multiple reversible robust LF image watermarking scheme based on code division multiplexing (CDM) and quaternion polar harmonic Fourier moments (QPHFMs). This scheme embeds multiple identical watermarks into the LF macro-pixel image, and the compensation information for information loss caused by watermark embedding is reversibly embedded into the LF sub-aperture images. The watermark can be extracted and the original LF image can be fully recovered if the image has not been attacked. The watermark can be extracted to verify the copyright ownership of the LF image even when the image has been attacked. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed watermarking scheme is resistant to various attacks and exhibits strong robustness.

For image steganography, no matter how ingenious the distortion function is designed, the embedding operation will lead to changes in the distribution of cover image, which causes security risks. In this paper, an image steganography based on decolorization and colorization is proposed, which can accomplish the embedding and extraction task of secret information during the process of color translation. Unlike traditional image steganography, the proposed steganography counteracts the embedding influence of secret information through decolorization network. In addition, a robust embedding algorithm is utilized to embed secret image into cover image by considering the de-colorization and colorization as an attack. Moreover, different training datasets are created to analysis their impact on the reconstruction performance of the colorization network. Finally, simulation results are given to verify the feasibility of the proposed steganography.

In this paper, we propose a robust image steganography method utilizing color conversion, leveraging decolorization and colorization models to achieve covert transmission of secret information. The motivation is to use color conversion of the stego image to conceal steganographic behavior. For the sender, secret information is embedded into the color cover image using a robust embedding algorithm based on quaternion exponent moments. The stego images are then decolorized to obtain grayscale images, which can be transmitted over public channels. For the receiver, a corresponding colorization network is designed to reconstruct the stego image and extract the secret information. Additionally, an attack module using Gaussian noise is implemented to enhance the robustness of the proposed steganography. Given a color image, its grayscale version can be chosen from various options, making it difficult for attackers to detect steganographic activity as long as the generated grayscale image appears normal and meaningful. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the feasibility and scalability of the proposed steganography method.