Semi-fragile watermarking with recovery capabilities for HGI compression method

The article proposes a new semi-fragile watermarking system with the ability of tamper localization and recovery after distortions, adapted for the HGI image compression method. The system uses a hierarchical image structure when embedding and replaces the stage of post-interpolation residuals quantization with a special quantizer based on quantization index modulation. As a result, the protected image becomes resistant to HGI compression with an adjustable quality parameter. The proposed watermarking system allows an image to be restored after distortions with an acceptable quality. In this case, the authentication part and the recovery part operate at different hierarchical levels. The developed watermark system, compatible with the HGI compression method, may be used to protect remote sensing images and medical images from malicious distortion.