The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: three different approaches to break their watermarking system

TL;DR

This paper explores three distinct strategies for breaking a watermarking system within the context of the BOWS contest, highlighting their effectiveness and limitations.

Contribution

It introduces and compares three different approaches to attack a watermarking system, providing insights into their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Findings

Each approach has unique advantages and vulnerabilities.

Some methods outperform others in specific scenarios.

The study offers a comprehensive analysis of watermark removal techniques.

Abstract

The Good is Blondie, a wandering gunman with a strong personal sense of honor. The Bad is Angel Eyes, a sadistic hitman who always hits his mark. The Ugly is Tuco, a Mexican bandit who's always only looking out for himself. Against the backdrop of the BOWS contest, they search for a watermark in gold buried in three images. Each knows only a portion of the gold's exact location, so for the moment they're dependent on each other. However, none are particularly inclined to share...