Traditional image watermarking stops short of embedding policy information, instead relying on embedded data that simply identifies key parameters about the document, such as its origin. However, InDorse Image Assurance is designed to allow the watermarking to govern how the image can be used, the company explained.
"InDIA prevents an end user from accessing files in the first place vis-a`-vis preset security rules that travel with every file. The end user simply conducts business-as-usual and via the metadata, the image will inform the end user if they can view, download, file to another location or forward", said InDorse. "If the file is leaked, the watermark continues to show the time stamped record of who downloaded the file before it was leaked."
InDorse spokespeople said that people would be reluctant to take photographs of on-screen images in an attempt to bypass the system, because the watermarking shows a visually time-stamped record of who downloaded a particular image.
InDorse's watermarking system is reminiscent of a print-based policy watermarking system released recently by Canon. The company enabled its printers to encode digital rights management information directly into a printed or copied image using a series of microdots. Its printers would then refuse to copy protected images based on policy information embedded in the dots.
InDia tracks and reports information including who accessed the files, when downloads occurred, and what end-users did with the file. Most popular image formats are supported, including bitmaps, JPGs, and TIFs.