Data Hiding under QR Code using Visual Secret Sharing and Advanced Partitioning Based on Specific Relationship

Abstract

The Visual Secret Sharing is the technique in which secret information is hidden in the form image which then divided into shares and these shares are used to decrypt the secret information. The number of shares required is given by the creator of the secret. Minimum those many shares are needed in order to decrypt the secret. If a single share is missing then the secret cannot be decrypted. The Quick Response (QR) code gives quick access to the information contained in it. QR code is 2D representation of the barcode which has capability to store information and can be easily read by machine. Due to easy access to the information stored in it, it is necessary to use some encryption or other protection to the data. Proposed approach to visual secret sharing scheme divides a secret QR code into different shares. In addition, the secret message is recovered by using XOR operation of the shares. This can effortlessly be achieved with the use of smartphones or different QR scanning gadgets. Using optimal partitioning methods the decryption of the message is made difficult to the hackers giving additional security to the data. The message accuracy can be checked by comparing the original message with shared message using hashing techniques. Because the QR code are small in size and has high data storage capacity, it is also resistant to damage so that is information is not lost even if some portion of the QR code is damaged it is best image to be used in visual secret sharing. The proposed approach reduces the risk of data transmission attacks.