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A PDF watermarking scheme utilizing invisible QR code embedding in the spatial domain.

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Title: A PDF watermarking scheme utilizing invisible QR code embedding in the spatial domain.
Authors: Polenakis, Iosif1 (AUTHOR), Vouronikos, Vasileios1 (AUTHOR), Merolli, Angjele1 (AUTHOR), Nikolopoulos, Stavros D1 (AUTHOR) stavros@cs.uoi.gr
Source: Journal of Computer Security. Nov2025, Vol. 33 Issue 6, p363-385. 23p.
Subjects: Digital watermarking, PDF (Computer file format), Information technology security, Two-dimensional bar codes, Data integrity
Abstract: In today's digital era of constant information sharing, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of digital documents—particularly portable document format (PDF) files—has become increasingly important. This paper introduces a watermarking scheme for PDF files by embedding quick response (QR) codes into the spatial domain of text color. The method takes a PDF and a QR code as input, resizing the QR code to match the length of the text on each page. The embedding process incorporates Arnold's transformation and a permutation equal to the QR code's size to secure both embedding and extraction. The QR code is applied by slightly altering the color of specific text characters that correspond to black pixels in the QR code image, achieving spatial-domain watermarking without degrading visual quality. Experimental evaluation demonstrates the method's robustness against various attacks, with the watermarked PDFs achieving an average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 57.6 dB and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) of 0.99. The extracted QR codes maintain PSNR values above 68.8 dB and SSIM equal to 1 after common processing attacks. The scheme also effectively detects malicious tampering, proving the potential of the proposed watermarking scheme in the protection of PDF files. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Computer Security is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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  Data: A PDF watermarking scheme utilizing invisible QR code embedding in the spatial domain.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Computer+Security%22">Journal of Computer Security</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 33 Issue 6, p363-385. 23p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Digital+watermarking%22">Digital watermarking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22PDF+%28Computer+file+format%29%22">PDF (Computer file format)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+technology+security%22">Information technology security</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Two-dimensional+bar+codes%22">Two-dimensional bar codes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+integrity%22">Data integrity</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: In today's digital era of constant information sharing, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of digital documents—particularly portable document format (PDF) files—has become increasingly important. This paper introduces a watermarking scheme for PDF files by embedding quick response (QR) codes into the spatial domain of text color. The method takes a PDF and a QR code as input, resizing the QR code to match the length of the text on each page. The embedding process incorporates Arnold's transformation and a permutation equal to the QR code's size to secure both embedding and extraction. The QR code is applied by slightly altering the color of specific text characters that correspond to black pixels in the QR code image, achieving spatial-domain watermarking without degrading visual quality. Experimental evaluation demonstrates the method's robustness against various attacks, with the watermarked PDFs achieving an average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 57.6 dB and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) of 0.99. The extracted QR codes maintain PSNR values above 68.8 dB and SSIM equal to 1 after common processing attacks. The scheme also effectively detects malicious tampering, proving the potential of the proposed watermarking scheme in the protection of PDF files. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Computer Security is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1177/0926227X251346082
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Digital watermarking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: PDF (Computer file format)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information technology security
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Two-dimensional bar codes
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      – SubjectFull: Data integrity
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            NameFull: Merolli, Angjele
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              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
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              Y: 2025
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