Secure blind watermarking using Fractional-Order Lorenz system in the frequency domain

This paper investigates two different blind watermarking systems in the frequency domain with the development of a Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG), based on a fractional-order chaotic system, for watermark encryption. The methodology is based on converting the cover image to the YCbCr color domain and applying two different techniques of frequency transforms, Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), to the Y channel. Then, the encrypted watermark is embedded in the middle-frequency band and HH band coefficients for the DCT and DWT, respectively. For more security and long encryption key size, the fractional-order Lorenz system is used to double the encryption key size and make it secure against brute-force attacks. The proposed algorithms successfully detect the hidden watermark by using the statistical properties of the embedding media, where the PRNG is examined using statistical tests and the watermarking systems are evaluated using standard imperceptibility and robustness measures. Common attacks such as noise-adding attacks, image enhancement attacks and geometric transformation attacks are discussed. Results of the PRNG demonstrate sensitivity to the system parameters, and results of the watermarking systems show good imperceptibility while keeping the robustness measures in a good range.