Secure Image Transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Blockchain and Digital Watermarking

sahar khalid ahmed; Turkan Ahmed Khaleel

doi:10.31642/JoKMC/2018/130205

Authors

sahar khalid ahmed University of Mosul, College of Engineering, Computer Department
Turkan Ahmed Khaleel

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31642/JoKMC/2018/130205

Keywords:

Secure Image Transmission, Blockchain, Wireless Sensor Networks, Digital Watermarking, Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks are used in many areas, and image transmission is one of the applications in WSNs, especially in security and medical applications, and it is carried out efficiently. Nonetheless, security and confidentiality are a hard process in the transmission of images in WSNs because of WSN limitations. This paper presents a security solution to transmitting images over WSN, including a distributed recovery mechanism, the use of blockchain technology, and digital watermarking/AES CTR encryption. In comparison to the currently applied methodology, the proposed system is the only one that combines blockchain-based recovery with adaptive routing and watermarking. The suggested system is premised on the principle of digital watermarking of the security and integrity of the images relayed on a WSN. In addition, the security and reliability of the images relayed in WSNs are ensured through a blockchain technology-based distributed recovery mechanism. Furthermore, an adaptive routing protocol effectively improves the efficiency of the transmission and also lowers the energy use. The behavior of the proposed system is confirmed by simulations in various conditions. The findings are discussed in the conclusion. Mean packet delivery ratio is 0.67, mean network throughput is equal to 71 kbps, and mean energy consumption is 21.15 J

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] K. Shankar and M. Elhoseny, “An Optimal Singular Value Decomposition with LWC-RECTANGLE Block Cipher Based Digital Image Watermarking in Wireless Sensor Networks,” Secure Image Transmission in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Applications, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, Springer, 2019, pp. 83–98, https://doi.org/ 10.1007/978-3-030-20816-5_6.

[2] A. K. Yadav and V. P. Vishwakarma, “An integrated blockchain and fractional DCT based highly secured framework for storage and retrieval of retinal images,” Ain Shams Eng. J., vol. 15, no. 11, p. 103047, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2024.103047.

[3] A. Giakoumaki, K. Perakis, K. Banitsas, K. Giokas, S. Tachakra, and D. Koutsouris, "Using digital watermarking to enhance security in wireless medical image transmission," Telemedicine and e-Health, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 306–313, 2010, https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2009.0054

[4] R. Singh, A. Ashok, and M. Saraswat, “Optimised robust watermarking technique using CKGSA in DCT-SVD domain,” IET Image Processing, vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 2052–2063, Jul. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-ipr.2019.1059.

[5] Y. Guo, B. Z. Li, and N. Goel, “Optimised blind image watermarking method based on firefly algorithm in DWT-QR transform domain,” IET Image Process., vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 406–415, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-ipr.2016.0515.

[6] A. Abrar, W. Abdul, and S. Ghouzali, “Secure Image Authentication Using Watermarking and Blockchain,” Intell. Automat. Soft Comput., vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 577–591, 2021. https://doi.org/10.32604/iasc.2021.016382.

[7] M. Li, L. Zeng, L. Zhao, R. Yang, D. An, and H. Fan, "Blockchain watermarking for compressive sensed images," IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 56457–56467, 2021.https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3072196

[8] W. Wu, Y. Dong, and G. Wang, “Image robust watermarking method based on DWT-SVD transform and chaotic map,” Complexity, vol. 2024, Art. no. 6618382, pp. 1–18, 2024, https://doi.org/doi: 10.1155/2024/6618382.

[9] J. Mythili and R. Gopalakrishnan, “Improving data transmission through optimizing blockchain sharding in cloud IoT based healthcare applications,” Egypt. Informatics J., vol. 30, no. June 2025,100661, p. 1-19, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eij.2025.100661.

[10] B. Patwari, U. Nandi, S. Dey, S. Dhar, S. Kr, and T. Si, “Blockchain-integrated image steganography using xDoG edge detection for authentication,” Cyber Security and Applications, vol. 3, no. December 2025, 100091, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csa.2025.100091.

[11] F. Ernawan and M. N. Kabir, “A Robust Image Watermarking Technique With an Optimal DCT-Psychovisual Threshold,” IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp. 20464–20480, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2819424.

[12] A. Khan, P. Nand, B. Bhushan, H. M. Rai, and A. Alkhayyat, "Enhancing multimedia security in IoT environment: Blockchain to the rescue," in Multimedia Technologies in the Internet of Things Environment, vol. 4, pp. 39–74, Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4356-1_3.

[13] G. U. Maheswari, S. Amutha, C. Rajeshkumar, M. Vargheese, G. Nallasivan, and J. H. Selvarani, "Multimedia wireless sensor network platform data encryption algorithm based on blockchain technology," in 2024 2nd International Conference on Networking and Communications (ICNWC), pp. 1–7, IEEE, Apr. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1109/ICNWC60771.2024.10537414.

[14] B. Ferik, L. Laimeche, A. Meraoumia, O. Aldabbas, M. AlShaikh, A. Laouid, and M. Hammoudeh, “A Multi-Layered Security Framework for Medical Imaging: Integrating Compressed Digital Watermarking and Blockchain,” IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 187604–187622, Dec. 11, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3514668.

[15] Z. Cui, M. Han, B. Gao, and L. Gao, "Consensus mechanism of wireless sensor network blockchain based on CRC-PBFT algorithm," Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering, Aug. 8, 2025, https://doi.org/ 10.1177/14727978251366531

[16] D. G. Chakravarthy, R. Gopi, S. Murugan, and E. R. Joseph, "Enhancing confidentiality and access control in electronic health record systems using a hybrid hashing blockchain framework," Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 30379, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13831-5.

[17] N. Raghu, R. Bhat, P. R. Nambiar, G. S. Shetty, and A. K. DB, "Blockchain-enhanced GAN image encryption scheme for cloud computing," in Intelligent Systems and IoT Applications in Clinical Health, pp. 367–392, IGI Global, 2025, https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-8990-4.ch016

[18] V. Malik, M. Khan, P. Bhoyar, K. Gupta, M. A. Hussain, K. Arora, and B. M. Mujahid, "StegoSec-EHR: A blockchain-enabled IoT framework for secure HER sharing via steganography in genetic disease diagnosis," Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications, vol. 18, no. 6, p. 325, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12083-025-02147-w.

[19] O. M. A. El-Hamed, F. E. A. El-Samie, W. Badawy, and S. M. A. El-atty, "Blockchain-based framework for secure communication in vehicular ad hoc network (VANET)," Journal of Optics, pp. 1–12, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12596-025-02760-1

[20] M. AlShaikh, M. Kara, F. Binbeshr, and M. Ghaleb, "An OTP and watermarking based partial homomorphic approach to authenticated and integrated cloud computing," Cluster Computing, vol. 28, no. 8, p. 520, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10586-025-05224-0.

[21] A. Odeh, "Healthcare data management using blockchain-enabled sensor networks," in Sensor Networks for Smart Hospitals, pp. 139–154, Elsevier, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-36370-2.00009-8.

[22] P. K. Mannepalli, V. Richhariya, S. K. Gupta, P. K. Shukla, P. K. Dutta, S. Chowdhury, and Y. C. Hu, "A robust blockchain-based watermarking using edge detection and wavelet transform," Multimedia Tools and Applications, vol. 84, no. 14, pp. 12739–12763, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-024-18907-4.

[23] J. Subramani, M. Azees, A. S. Rajasekaran, A. Aljaedi, Z. Bassfar, and S. S. Jamal, "Blockchain-enabled secure data collection scheme for fog-based WBAN," IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 38287–38297, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3351844.