Can we trust digital image forensics?

ABSTRACT

Compared to the prominent role digital images play in nowadays multimedia society, research in the field of image authenticity is still in its infancy. Only recently, research on digital image forensics has gained attention by addressing tamper detection and image source identification. However, most publications in this emerging field still lack rigorous discussions of robustness against strategic counterfeiters, who anticipate the existence of forensic techniques. As a result, the question of trustworthiness of digital image forensics arises. This work will take a closer look at two state-of-the-art forensic methods and proposes two counter-techniques; one to perform resampling operations undetectably and another one to forge traces of image origin. Implications for future image forensic systems will be discussed.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.4 IMAGE PROCESSING AND COMPUTER VISION
      I.4.m Miscellaneous

General Terms:
Algorithms, Security

Keywords:
digital image forensics, image source identification, tamper detection, tamper hiding