5 - Multimedia Authentication

• Published in: Multimedia Security Technologies for Digital Rights Management pp. 111 - 137
• Main Authors: He, Dajun, Sun, Qibin
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 2006
• ISBN: 9780123694768; 0123694760
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-012369476-8/50007-5

This chapter introduces a list of authentication schemes for multimedia applications. Based on the robustness to distortions, these schemes can be classified into complete authentication and content authentication. In content authentication, multimedia content is considered authentic as long as the meaning of the multimedia data remains unchanged, regardless of any process or transformation the multimedia data has undergone. Besides, the security requirement, a certain level of robustness to distortions is required. The distortions could be classified into two classes–– namely, incidental distortion and intentional distortion. The chapter explains that an authentication scheme that does not allow any changes in the multimedia data is defined as complete authentication. The basic concepts in data authentication: message, data authentication, integrity, non-repudiation, security, encryption/decryption, symmetric key/public key, one-way hash function are illustrated in the chapter through block diagrams. Signatures and watermarking are two important technologies employed in designing these authentication schemes. Signatures can be classified into digital signatures and media signatures for complete authentication and content authentication, respectively. The chapter focuses on the discussion of various media signature-based authentication techniques for multimedia applications––such as, image, video, and audio. The chapter concludes that a good content authentication solution should be not only secure enough against malicious attacks, but also robust enough to acceptable manipulations. Such a good system should also be application-dependent.