Secure progressive transmission of compressed images

In most progressive image coding techniques the compressed data vary in importance for reconstructing the original image. Obtaining certain parts of these data by an eavesdropper could reveal significant information about the transmitted or stored image. In this paper different encryption methods to secure the transmission or storage of such data are proposed and evaluated. The methods are chosen in a manner that allows high encryption and decryption rates, simple key management and utilization of widely available encryption algorithms such as the DES (data encryption standard). Effects of channel noise on the encrypted data are also considered and a modification of these methods to combat channel errors is also proposed and evaluated.