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Puzzle - an efficient, compression independent video encryption algorithm

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Abstract

Real-time video streams require an efficient encryption method to ensure their confidentiality. One of the major challenges in designing a video encryption algorithm is to encrypt the vast amount of video data in real-time to satisfy the stringent time requirements. Video encryption algorithms can be classified according to their association with video compression into joint compression and encryption algorithms and compression-independent encryption algorithms. The latter have a clear advantage over the former regarding the incorporation into existing multimedia systems due to their independence of the video compression. In this paper we present the compression-independent video encryption algorithm Puzzle, which was inspired by the children game jigsaw puzzle. It comprises two simple encryption operations with low computational complexity: puzzling and obscuring. The scheme thereby dramatically reduces the encryption overhead compared to conventional encryption algorithms, such as AES, especially for high resolution video. Further outstanding features of Puzzle are a good trade-off between security demands and encryption efficiency, no impairment on video compression efficiency, and an easy integration into existing multimedia systems. This makes Puzzle particularly well-suited for these security-sensitive multimedia applications, such as videoconferencing, where maximal security and minimal encryption overhead are desired simultaneously.

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank M. Stanek and L. Stanekova for their constructive comments on our previous schemes. We also thank anonymous referees for their very helpful comments to improve the quality of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, Department of Computer Science, PF 10 13 44, 03013, Cottbus, Germany

    Fuwen Liu & Hartmut Koenig

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  1. Fuwen Liu
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  2. Hartmut Koenig
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Correspondence to Fuwen Liu.

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Liu, F., Koenig, H. Puzzle - an efficient, compression independent video encryption algorithm. Multimed Tools Appl 73, 715–735 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-012-1185-y

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