Ownership Protection on Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Using Transform-Based Watermarking

This research aims to protect Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data from piracy or counterfeiting. An invisible watermark inserted into the data, which will not considerably change the data value, is necessary. The proposed method involves the use of the two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (2D DCT), a combination of 2D DCT and discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform (2D DFT) in the frequency domain. The data used include a National DEM file downloaded from the geoportal of the Geospatial Information Agency (Badan Informasi Geospasial—BIG). Three files represent mountainous, lowland/urban, and coastal areas. An “attack” is also conducted on the watermarked DEM by cropping. The results indicate that the watermarked DEM is well recognized. The watermark can be read 100% for 2D DCT, while that for 2D DFT can be read 90.50%. The distortion value of the elevation data under the DCT technique demonstrates the smallest maximum value of 0.1 m compared with 4.5 and 1.1 m for 2D DFT and 2D DCT–DWT. Meanwhile, the height difference (Max Delta), the peak signal-to-noise ratio, and the root mean squared error (RMSE) are highest in mountainous, lowland, and coastal areas, respectively. Overall, the 2D DCT is also superior to the 2D DFT and the2D DCT–DWT. Although only one can recognize the nine watermarks inserted on each sheet, DEMs attacked by the cropping process can still be identified. However, this finding can sufficiently confirm that DEMs belong to BIG.