A Robust Image Watermarking Framework Integrated with AES Encryption for Secure Digital Media Protection
Keywords:
Advanced encryption standard, Authentication, Discrete wavelet transform, Encryption, WatermarkingAbstract
Digital image watermarking combined with cryptographic techniques provides a reliable mechanism for securing multimedia content against unauthorized access, tampering, and distribution. This study presents a novel framework integrating robust image watermarking with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption to ensure both data integrity and confidentiality. The proposed method embeds an invisible watermark into the cover image using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), followed by AES encryption to protect the watermark data from external threats. The framework enhances resistance to compression, noise, cropping, and geometric attacks while maintaining high visual quality. Experimental evaluation demonstrates superior performance in terms of Peak Signal-To-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Normalized Correlation (NC), and Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM). Compared to conventional watermarking techniques, the AES-embedded approach significantly improves data security, making it highly suitable for Digital Rights Management (DRM), medical imaging, and forensic applications. Future work aims at integrating blockchain-based authentication and machine learning-based attack prediction models.
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