Security feature for digital imaging

• US 10,075,618 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2014
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Erdler, Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): Shayanfar, Ali
• Application Number:
  US14/782,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20160050341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/444 to a particular document or image or part thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4446 Hiding of documents or document information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4486 using digital data encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4493 Subsequently rendering the image intelligible using a co-operating image, mask or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

A method including: providing an image; encrypting an encryption region of the image, the encryption region is less than the whole region of the image; keeping a remaining region of the image unencrypted to provide a partially encrypted image; and storing the partially encrypted image.

Claims

1. A method performed by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

capturing an image by a camera of the multimedia device;

encrypting an encryption region of the image, the encryption region being less than the whole region of the image;

maintaining a remaining region of the image unencrypted to provide a partially encrypted image;

adding information indicating an encryption technique used to encrypt the encryption region to the partially encrypted image;

storing the partially encrypted image;

transmitting the partially encrypted image to a server; and

discarding the image captured by the camera of the multimedia device,

wherein, in the encrypting, a password is activated by a user authentication, and

wherein the user authentication comprises at least one of a finger scan, a face recognition, pin code input, and a graphical pattern input via a touch display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the partially encrypted image at the server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the encryption region is selected by a system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the face recognition process comprises comparing the face recognized in the image with a set of faces predefined by the user or selected by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the encryption region is determined by a face recognition process so that the encryption region covers a face recognized in the image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein encrypting the encryption region comprises applying a steganography technique on the encryption region.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining a geographic position of the multimedia device; and

encrypting the encryption region if the geographic position is within a predetermined range.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein encrypting the encryption region uses the password.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the added information includes a size of encryption region and a position of encryption region within the image.

10. A multimedia device comprising:

a camera configured to capture an image;

circuitry configured to

select an encryption region of the image, the encryption region being less than the whole region of the image; and

encrypt the selected encryption region while keeping a remaining region of the image unencrypted to provide a partially encrypted image;

add information indicating an encryption technique used to encrypt the encryption region to the partially encrypted image;

store the partially encrypted image; and

discard the image captured by the camera of the multimedia device; and

a communication interface configured to transmit the partially encrypted image to a server,

wherein, in the encrypting, a password is activated by a user authentication, and

wherein the user authentication comprises at least one of a finger scan, a face recognition, pin code input, and a graphical pattern input via a touch display.

11. The multimedia device of claim 10, further comprising:

a user interface configured to receive an input selecting the encryption region.

12. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the communication interface is further configured to transmit the partially encrypted image to at least one of a cloud storage, a memory card, and an internal device memory.

13. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the circuitry is configured to recognize a face in the image and select a region of the image including the recognized face as the encryption region.

14. The multimedia device of claim 13, wherein the circuitry is configured to compare a recognized face with a set of predetermined faces stored in a memory.

15. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the circuitry is configured to confirm the user'"'"'s identity.

16. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the multimedia device is one of a mobile phone, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, a TV set.