Comparison of MPEG encryption algorithms

Abstract Over the last three years, several encryption algorithms, applied to MPEG video streams, emerged. Most of the algorithms tried to optimize the encryption process with respect to the encryption speed due to the temporal properties of video retieval and display process. In this paper, we will describe, evaluate, and compare five representative MPEG encryption algorithms, Naive Algorithm , Selective Algorithm , Zig–Zag Permutation Algorithm , Video Encryption Algorithm , and Pure Permutation Algorithm , with respect to not only their encryption speed metric, but also their security level and stream size metrics. We will show that there are trade-offs among these metrics and the choice of encryption algorithm will depend on security requirements of the considered multimedia applications.