A Blind DCT Domain Digital Watermarking for Biometric Authentication

In this paper, an efficient blind digital image watermarking algorithm using mapping technique is presented. The algorithm can embed or hide an entire image or pattern (logo) directly into the original image. The embedding process is based on changing the selected DCT coefficients of the host image to odd or even values depending on the binary bit value of watermark DCT coefficients. The algorithm is tested for fingerprint image embedded with a face watermark. It is demonstrated that the watermarking algorithm offers a significant advantage of providing biometric image compression and authentication without introducing any significant degradation in the image quality. Moreover the watermarking scheme is blind and does not require any additional data for logo extraction.