A novel secret image sharing scheme in color images using small shadow images

Over the past several years, secret image sharing techniques have become another branch of the effort to prevent secret images from being eavesdropped on, in addition to traditional cryptography. Because smaller shadows can speed up the transmission of a secret color image, in this paper we combine Chang and Wu's gradual search algorithm for a single bitmap BTC (GSBTC) and Shamir's (k, n) threshold concept to propose a novel secret color image sharing scheme that generates smaller shadows. Experimental results confirm that the proposed scheme successfully reduces shadow size and that each shadow behaves as a random-like image that prevents leakage of information about the secret color image. Furthermore, the correlation between two vertically or horizontally adjacent pixels in each shadow is significantly less than those in a color secret image, and the presented scheme also achieves, on average, an NPCR = 0.414% and AUCI = 32.78%. Thus, with our scheme one-pixel difference could cause a significant difference in the corresponding shadows. Therefore, the security of the presented scheme is also confirmed.