Abstract
The digital art industry faces critical challenges in copyright protection and privacy preservation that existing solutions fail to adequately address. Traditional digital watermarking techniques are vulnerable to removal attacks and cannot prevent unauthorized content access, while current Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platforms expose transaction details and artwork content due to blockchain transparency, creating privacy risks for creators and collectors. Conventional encryption methods require decryption before any data processing, making copyright verification and feature extraction impossible in encrypted states, thus creating a fundamental security-usability trade-off.
To overcome these limitations, this research proposes a network security protection system integrating homomorphic encryption with NFT copyright protection. Homomorphic encryption was selected because it uniquely enables computational operations on encrypted data without decryption, allowing copyright verification while maintaining complete data confidentiality – a capability unmatched by alternative privacy-preserving technologies. The system employs the Cheon-Kim-Kim-Song (CKKS) homomorphic encryption algorithm to construct a three-tier protection architecture consisting of an encryption layer, verification layer, and storage layer. This architecture achieves copyright verification and feature extraction of digital artworks in ciphertext state by integrating zero-knowledge proof for identity authentication and Shamir’s secret sharing for secure key management. The NFT copyright protection mechanism introduces homomorphic watermark embedding and smart contract verification, combined with proxy re-encryption to implement secure copyright transfer.
A prototype system was developed and evaluated through comprehensive testing. Security performance was assessed using six metrics: privacy protection strength, copyright verification accuracy, anti-tampering capability, key security, transaction anonymity, and system resilience. Each metric was scored on a 0–100 scale based on standardized penetration testing and cryptographic attack simulations, with the comprehensive security score calculated as the weighted average of all metrics. Performance testing on 100 digital artworks across five resolutions (256×256 to 4096×4096 pixels) demonstrates that encryption time for 512×512 resolution images is kept within 15 seconds, while security testing reveals the system achieves a comprehensive security score of 94.7, representing a 60.5% improvement over traditional NFT platforms. This solution provides a practical copyright protection framework balancing security and usability for the digital art industry, with significant theoretical value and broad application prospects.
References
H. Wang, H. Ning, Y. Lin, W. Wang, S. Dhelim, F. Farha, J. Ding, M. Daneshmand, A survey on the metaverse: The state-of-the-art, technologies, applications, and challenges, IEEE Internet of Things Journal 10(16) (2023) 14671–14688.
M. Ali, S. Bagui, Introduction to NFTs: the future of digital collectibles, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications 12(10) (2021) 50–56.
R. O’Dwyer, Limited edition: Producing artificial scarcity for digital art on the blockchain and its implications for the cultural industries, Convergence 26(4) (2020) 874–894.
H. Gaffar, S. Albarashdi, Copyright protection for AI-generated works: Exploring originality and ownership in a digital landscape, Asian Journal of International Law 15(1) (2025) 23–46.
Y. Cheng, S. Mei, W. Zhong, X. Gao, Managing consumer privacy risk: The effects of privacy breach insurance, Electronic Commerce Research 23(2) (2023) 807–841.
P. Kadian, S.M. Arora, N. Arora, Robust digital watermarking techniques for copyright protection of digital data: A survey, Wireless Personal Communications 118(4) (2021) 3225–3249.
A. Sadeghi-Nasab, V. Rafe, A comprehensive review of the security flaws of hashing algorithms, Journal of Computer Virology and Hacking Techniques 19(2) (2023) 287–302.
X. Zhang, M.M. Yadollahi, S. Dadkhah, H. Isah, D.-P. Le, A.A. Ghorbani, Data breach: analysis, countermeasures and challenges, International Journal of Information and Computer Security 19(3–4) (2022) 402–442.
C. Fink, K.E. Maskus, Y. Qian, The economic effects of counterfeiting and piracy: A review and implications for developing countries, The World Bank Research Observer 31(1) (2016) 1–28.
L.A. Amineddoleh, Are you faux real: An examination of art forgery and the legal tools protecting art collectors, Cardozo Arts & Ent. LJ 34 (2016) 59.
C. Gentry, A fully homomorphic encryption scheme, Stanford university2009.
E. Mohamed, Future trends and real-world applications in database encryption, Int. J. Electr. Eng. and Sustain. (2025) 28–39.
L. Wu, X.A. Wang, J. Liu, Y. Su, Z. Tu, W. Liu, H. Lei, D. Tang, Y. Cao, J. Zhang, Homomorphic Encryption for Machine Learning Applications with CKKS Algorithms: A Survey of Developments and Applications, Computers, Materials & Continua 85(1) (2025).
R. Hamza, A. Hassan, A. Ali, M.B. Bashir, S.M. Alqhtani, T.M. Tawfeeg, A. Yousif, Towards secure big data analysis via fully homomorphic encryption algorithms, Entropy 24(4) (2022) 519.
T. Feng, P. Yang, C. Liu, J. Fang, R. Ma, Blockchain Data Privacy Protection and Sharing Scheme Based on Zero-Knowledge Proof, Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing 2022(1) (2022) 1040662.
A. Mahalle, Data privacy and system security on cloud computing architechture for banking and financial services industry, University of Southern Queensland, 2023.
S.S. Mahadik, P.M. Pawar, R. Muthalagu, N.R. Prasad, S.-K. Hawkins, D. Stripelis, S. Rao, P. Ejim, B. Hecht, Digital privacy in healthcare: State-of-the-art and future vision, IEEE Access 12 (2024) 84273– 84291.
K. Li, Digital media system design and visual art analysis based on information security, Measurement: Sensors 31 (2024) 100978.
J. Wilson, Copyright in the Age of NFTs and Digital Art, Mich. St. L. Rev. (2023) 757.
D. Wang, J. Zhao, Y. Wang, A survey on privacy protection of blockchain: The technology and application, IEEE Access 8 (2020) 108766-108781.
H. Saudarshan, Risk, Sustainability, and Future of NFT Marketplaces: A Quantitative, Blockchain, Policy-Based, and Interdisciplinary Analysis, Blockchain, Policy-Based, and Interdisciplinary Analysis (January 16, 2025) (2025).
X. Yi, Y. Zhou, Y. Lin, B. Xie, J. Chen, C. Wang, Digital rights management scheme based on redactable blockchain and perceptual hash, Peer-to-peer networking and applications 16(5) (2023) 2630– 2648.
M. Zeilinger, Digital art as ‘monetised graphics’: Enforcing intellectual property on the blockchain, Philosophy & Technology 31(1) (2018) 15–41.
M. Rasori, M. La Manna, P. Perazzo, G. Dini, A survey on attribute-based encryption schemes suitable for the internet of things, IEEE Internet of Things Journal 9(11) (2022) 8269–8290.
Y. Yuzhen, F. Xiaoliang, and Z. Wei, “Automation of Abnormal IP Blocking in Security Systems Using OCR-Driven Web Interaction and Real-Time Alert Integration”, JCSANDM, vol. 14, no. 04, pp. 981–1006, Oct. 2025.
Y. Ju, “Privacy-Preserving Risk Prediction and Sensitive Data Detection in FinTech Platforms: A Hybrid Approach for Secure and Intelligent Early Warning”, JCSANDM, vol. 14, no. 04, pp. 877–900, Oct. 2025.
Lee, J., Duong, P. N., and Lee, H. (2023). Configurable encryption and decryption architectures for CKKS-based homomorphic encryption. Sensors, 23(17), 7389.
Majeed, S. H. (2025). A Cyber Security Model Using Gaussian Noise for Text Encryption and Decryption Algorithm. JOIV: International Journal on Informatics Visualization, 9(5), 1871–1880.
Jia, H., Cai, D., Yang, J., Qian, W., Wang, C., Li, X., and Yang, S. (2023). Efficient and privacy-preserving image classification using homomorphic encryption and chunk-based convolutional neural network. Journal of Cloud Computing, 12(1), 175.
Wang, X., Yang, Z., Feng, Z., and Zhao, J. (2020). A WSN layer-cluster key management scheme based on quadratic polynomial and lagrange interpolation polynomial. Sensors, 20(16), 4388.
Wang, X., Xu, X., Sun, K., Jiang, Z., Li, M., and Wen, J. (2023). A color image encryption and hiding algorithm based on hyperchaotic system and discrete cosine transform. Nonlinear Dynamics, 111(15), 14513–14536.
Alsabaan, M., Faheem, Z. B., Zhu, Y., and Ali, J. (2025). Image Watermarking Algorithm Base on the Second Order Derivative and Discrete Wavelet Transform. Computers, Materials & Continua, 84(1).
Naem, S. A. S., and Hameed, S. M. (2025). Digital watermarking techniques, challenges, and applications: A review. Mesopotamian Journal of CyberSecurity, 5(2), 453–476.
Han, P. (2025). AI-powered digital arbitration framework leveraging smart contracts and electronic evidence authentication. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 37327.
Oliveira, Í., Rikhtehgar, D. J., and Wang, S. (2025). An Ontological Conceptual Model for Structuring Multimodal User Behavior in Virtual Reality.
Zhang, R., Li, Y., and Fang, L. (2025). PBTMS: A blockchain-based privacy-preserving system for reliable and efficient e-commerce. Electronics, 14(6), 1177.
Park, E., Yoon, T., Nam, H., Maram, D., and Kang, M. S. (2025). On Frontrunning Risks in Batch-Order Fair Systems for Blockchains (Extended Version). Cryptology ePrint Archive.
Stasinos, S. (2025). Uncovering Smart Contract Vulnerabilities: A Systematic Literature Review and a Deep Learning Approach to Predict Known and Unknown Threats.
Saudarshan, H. (2025). Risk, Sustainability, and Future of NFT Marketplaces: A Quantitative, Blockchain, Policy-Based, and Interdisciplinary Analysis. Blockchain, Policy-Based, and Interdisciplinary Analysis (January 16, 2025).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Cyber Security and Mobility
