This research presents a comprehensive analysis of cryptographic watermarking and its limitations, specifically for generative models. By developing messageless secret-key codes, the authors define the necessary needs for robust watermarking, including soundness, tamper detection, and pseudorandomness. The findings reveal that no scheme can withstand modifications exceeding half of the encoded bits, presenting a clear vulnerability in existing methods.
Additionally, the authors proposed constructive methods that reach near-maximum robustness. They demonstrated through experimental tests that typical image processing operations, such as cropping and resizing, can successfully disrupt watermarking efforts, effectively erasing embedded marks while keeping the image visually intact. This raises concerns about current watermarking techniques and their reliability in real-world applications, indicating that many systems may already be operating at or beyond their limits of robustness.
The implications of this research are significant, highlighting both the theoretical thresholds of watermarking robustness and practical vulnerabilities in commonly used systems. It calls for a reevaluation of watermarking techniques used in digital content protection, as current methods may not provide the intended security under realistic conditions.
👉 Pročitaj original: arXiv AI Papers
