Information hiding for spatial and geographical data

A geographical information system (GIS) represents geographical and spatial data through digital maps that are built according to a specific representation model. A digital map represents a set of features that are stored as couples < attribute, value > for each position in the map. A digital map is built upon a set of layers. Each layer logically represents a kind of information that can be used as it is or in conjunction with information belonging to other layers we need to make additional efforts in order to achieve the security and the protection requirements for the new emergent applications. Digital watermarking is a common solution that is used in order to realize the above requirements. It is classified as an information hiding technique, since it embeds a secret message, the watermark, in some valuable data in order to protect the intellectual property. In the GIS field, it is employed in order to address the problem of intellectual property protection, including copyright protection and fingerprinting of digital maps. This paper describes the possible applications of watermarking and steganography techniques to guarantee intellectual property protection in GIS systems.