Copy And
Counterfeit Detection
Since our data is at great
risk, other methods besides those currently used, need to be formed since
crackers are continually negotiating their way through the web of security
infrastructure standing in their way.
An object, say a car that has
been stolen, is easily detectable. From the instant that you leave your
house and look in the general direction of your parked car, you know
immediately that it has been stolen. However, in an IT scenario,
electronically stored information does not have to be removed but simply
copied. The point in all of this is simple, stolen data (through copying)
may not be detected until the thief uses the data and the ramifications are
realised.
Digital Watermarking
Digital watermarking is an
adapted version of paper watermarks to the digital world. Digital
watermarking describes methods and technologies that allow us to hide
information, for example a number or text, in digital media, such as images,
video and audio. The embedding takes place by manipulating the content of
the digital data. The hiding process has to be such that the modifications
of the media are indiscernible.
There are a number of possible
applications for digital watermarking technologies and this number is
increasing rapidly. For example, in the field of data security, watermarks
may be used for certification, authentication, and conditional access. This
means that the data could only be used in certain situations and recognised
by certain systems running a watermark detection program attempting to
validate and recognise the watermark. Say, for example, database records
containing highly sensitive material are stolen. The information could not
be accessed, because the data would have to be validated by the target
systems detection program. Since the watermark cannot be validated by the
thief's machine, it is then rendered useless.
Furthermore, using digital
watermarks can prevent authorised users from changing the data. For
integrity verification purposes, the data could be run through the watermark
detection program and changes to the data could be exposed.
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