Threshold visual secret sharing based on Boolean operations

We design a new (k,n)-threshold visual secret sharing scheme on the basis of Boolean operations. We propose two different algorithms to encrypt a secret image into n meaningless shares such that no secret information can be obtained by having any k-1 or fewer shares. However, the secret image can be reconstructed easily by XOR of any k(≤n) or more shares. Both the algorithms have used simple Boolean operations such as OR and XOR. The proposed scheme broadens the potential applicability of Boolean operation-based visual secret sharing by generating the shares of size same as that of the original secret image. Formal proofs, security analysis, and the experimental results are given to demonstrate the correctness and feasibility of the proposed scheme. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.