Digital Image Ballistics from JPEG Quantization

H. Farid

Technical Report, TR2006-583, Dartmouth College, Computer Science

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Most digital cameras export images in the JPEG file format. This lossy compression scheme employs a quantization table that controls the amount of compression achieved. Different cameras typically employ different tables. A comparison of an image's quantization scheme to a database of known cameras affords a simple technique for confirming or denying an image's source. Similarly, comparison to a database of photo-editing software can be used in a forensic setting to determine if an image was edited after its original recording.