Project Report

Introduction to Image Hiding Using steganography with Project:

We know that if you want to stop any object from interfering your eyes the you must present it to
the perfect person who is looking for it making it innocuous as much as possible. The choice of
music differs from one people to another and thus obviously you will get to see only his favorite
types of music on his computers storage device. Sharing and transferring of music is also very
common.
You will need to hide the message in such in such a way in the image file so that no great
changes take place after the message insertion in the image file. On the other hand, if the
message is encrypted then the security level will automatically increase. Now even if you want to
discover the hidden message then you will get to see only the encrypted message that you
cannot decrypt in any way. There is a goal behind every project and similarly here the main object
is to embed the information using stenography into a well known media. In comparison to the
media file this text will be much shorter. For e.g.: a relation between the lyrics and a recoded
song.

Usually the song lyrics in ASCII files are smaller in comparison to the image file recordings. So
you can safely embed steganographically the smaller file without hampering the quality into the
larger file.
Video data and close capturing information are also another topic of argument. This project
focuses on the lyrics to create a karaoke machine, driven steganographically. Here the lyrics will
embed and displayed when the file will run on the screen. Implementation of steganographic
algorithm is necessary for encoding data into image files. It extracts the data and plays it
separately. This is an ideal research for extracting song and lyrics.

2.1 Definition
The word steganography literally means covered writing as derived from Greek. It includes a vast
array of methods of secret communications that conceal the very existence of the message.
Among these methods are invisible inks, microdots, character arrangement (other than the
cryptographic methods of permutation and substitution), digital signatures, covert channels and

spread-spectrum communications.
Steganography is the art of concealing the existence of information within seemingly innocuous
carriers. Steganography can be viewed as akin to cryptography. Both have been used throughout
recorded history as means to protect information. At times these two technologies seem to
converge while the objectives of the two differ. Cryptographic techniques "scramble" messages so
if intercepted, the messages cannot be understood. Steganography, in an essence,
"camouflages" a message to hide its existence and make it seem "invisible" thus concealing the
fact that a message is being sent altogether. An encrypted message may draw suspicion while an
invisible message will not [JDJ01].
David Kahn places steganography and cryptography in a table to differentiate against the types
and counter methods used. Here security is defined as methods of "protecting" information where
intelligence is defined as methods of "retrieving" information [Kahn67]:

1.

Introduction

Digital multimedia data provides a robust and easy editing and modifying of data. The data can
be delivered over computer networks with little to no errors and often without interference.
Unfortunately, digital media distribution raises a concern for digital content owners. Digital data
can be copied without any loss in quality and content. This poses a big problem for the protection
of intellectual property rights of copyright owners. Watermarking is a solution to the problem. It
can be defined as embedding digital data, such as information about the owner, recipient, and
access level, without being detectable in the host multimedia data.
Steganography relies on hiding covert message in unsuspected multimedia data and is generally
used in secret communication between acknowledged parties. Steganography is a method of
encryption that hides data among the bits of a cover file, such as a graphic or an audio file. The
technique replaces unused or insignificant bits with the secret data. Steganography is not as
robust to attacks since the embedded data is vulnerable to destruction.
Watermarking has the feature of robustness against attacks. Even if the existence and method of
embedding the data is known, it may be difficult to destroy the hidden data.
Data hiding and data embedding can be classified as methods between steganography and
watermarking.
STEGANOGRAPHY
There are a large number of steganographic methods that most of us are familiar with (especially
if you watch a lot of spy movies!), ranging from invisible ink and microdots to secreting a hidden
message in the second letter of each word of a large body of text and spread spectrum radio
communication. With computers and networks, there are many other ways of hiding information,
such as:
Covert channels (e.g., Loki and some distributed denial-of-service tools use the Internet Control
Message Protocol, or ICMP, as the communications channel between the "bad guy" and a
compromised system)
Hidden text within Web pages
Hiding files in "plain sight" (e.g., what better place to "hide" a file than with an important sounding
name in the c:\winnt\system32 directory?)
Null ciphers (e.g., using the first letter of each word to form a hidden message in an otherwise
innocuous text)
Steganography today, however, is significantly more sophisticated than the examples above
suggest, allowing a user to hide large amounts of information within image and audio files. These
forms of steganography often are used in conjunction with cryptography so that the information is
doubly protected; first it is encrypted and then hidden so that an adversary has to first find the
information (an often difficult task in and of itself) and then decrypt it.
There are a number of uses for steganography besides the mere novelty. One of the most widely
used applications is for so-called digital watermarking. A watermark, historically, is the replication
of an image, logo, or text on paper stock so that the source of the document can be at least
partially authenticated. A digital watermark can accomplish the same function; a graphic artist, for
example, might post sample images on her Web site complete with an embedded signature so
that she can later prove her ownership in case others attempt to portray her work as their own.
Stego can also be used to allow communication within an underground community. There are
several reports, for example, of persecuted religious minorities using steganography to embed
messages for the group within images that are posted to known Web sites.

STEGANOGRAPHIC METHODS
The following formula provides a very generic description of the pieces of the steganographic
process:
cover_medium + hidden_data + stego_key = stego_medium
In this context, the cover_medium is the file in which we will hide the hidden_data, which may
also be encrypted using the stego_key. The resultant file is the stego_medium (which will, of
course. be the same type of file as the cover_medium). The cover_medium (and, thus, the
stego_medium) are typically image or audio files. In this article, I will focus on image files and will,
therefore, refer to the cover_image and stego_image.
Before discussing how information is hidden in an image file, it is worth a fast review of how
images are stored in the first place. An image file is merely a binary file containing a binary
representation of the color or light intensity of each picture element (pixel) comprising the image.
Images typically use either 8-bit or 24-bit color. When using 8-bit color, there is a definition of up
to 256 colors forming a palette for this image, each color denoted by an 8-bit value. A 24-bit color
scheme, as the term suggests, uses 24 bits per pixel and provides a much better set of colors. In
this case, each pix is represented by three bytes, each byte representing the intensity of the three
primary colors red, green, and blue (RGB), respectively. The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
format for indicating colors in a Web page often uses a 24-bit format employing six hexadecimal
digits, each pair representing the amount of red, blue, and green, respectively. The color orange,
for example, would be displayed with red set to 100% (decimal 255, hex FF), green set to 50%
(decimal 127, hex 7F), and no blue (0), so we would use "#FF7F00" in the HTML code.
The size of an image file, then, is directly related to the number of pixels and the granularity of the
color definition. A typical 640x480 pix image using a palette of 256 colors would require a file
about 307 KB in size (640 480 bytes), whereas a 1024x768 pix high-resolution 24-bit color
image would result in a 2.36 MB file (1024 768 3 bytes).
To avoid sending files of this enormous size, a number of compression schemes have been
developed over time, notably Bitmap (BMP), Graphic Interchange Format (GIF), and Joint
Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file types. Not all are equally suited to steganography,
however.
GIF and 8-bit BMP files employ what is known as lossless compression, a scheme that allows the
software to exactly reconstruct the original image. JPEG, on the other hand, uses lossy
compression, which means that the expanded image is very nearly the same as the original but
not an exact duplicate. While both methods allow computers to save storage space, lossless
compression is much better suited to applications where the integrity of the original information
must be maintained, such as steganography. While JPEG can be used for stego applications, it is
more common to embed data in GIF or BMP files.
The simplest approach to hiding data within an image file is called least significant bit (LSB)
insertion. In this method, we can take the binary representation of the hidden_data and overwrite
the LSB of each byte within the cover_image. If we are using 24-bit color, the amount of change
will be minimal and indiscernible to the human eye. As an example, suppose that we have three
adjacent pixels (nine bytes) with the following RGB encoding:
10010101 00001101 11001001
10010110 00001111 11001010
10011111 00010000 11001011
Now suppose we want to "hide" the following 9 bits of data (the hidden data is usually

compressed prior to being hidden): 101101101. If we overlay these 9 bits over the LSB of the 9
bytes above, we get the following (where bits in bold have been changed):
10010101 00001100 11001001
10010111 00001110 11001011
10011111 00010000 11001011
Note that we have successfully hidden 9 bits but at a cost of only changing 4, or roughly 50%, of
the LSBs.
This description is meant only as a high-level overview. Similar methods can be applied to 8-bit
color but the changes, as the reader might imagine, are more dramatic. Gray-scale images, too,
are very useful for steganographic purposes. One potential problem with any of these methods is
that they can be found by an adversary who is looking. In addition, there are other methods
besides LSB insertion with which to insert hidden information.
Without going into any detail, it is worth mentioning steganalysis, the art of detecting and breaking
steganography. One form of this analysis is to examine the color palette of a graphical image. In
most images, there will be a unique binary encoding of each individual color. If the image contains
hidden data, however, many colors in the palette will have duplicate binary encodings since, for
all practical purposes, we can't count the LSB. If the analysis of the color palette of a given file
yields many duplicates, we might safely conclude that the file has hidden information.
But what files would you analyze? Suppose I decide to post a hidden message by hiding it in an
image file that I post at an auction site on the Internet. The item I am auctioning is real so a lot of
people may access the site and download the file; only a few people know that the image has
special information that only they can read. And we haven't even discussed hidden data inside
audio files! Indeed, the quantity of potential cover files makes steganalysis a Herculean task.

The following points can be attributed to the renaissance of steganography:

Government ban on digital cryptography. Individuals and companies who seek confidentiality look
to steganography as an important complementary since combining cryptography and
steganography can help in avoiding suspicion and protect privacy.
The increased need to protect intellectual property rights by digital content owners, using efficient
watermarking.
The trend towards electronic communications and humans desire to conceal messages from
curious eyes. With rapid advancement in technology, steganographic software is becoming
effective in hiding information in image, audio or text files.
3.1.1

Requirements Gathering

It was determined at an early stage of the requirements gathering that the tutorial will focus
primarily on steganography for embedding text information in computer images. The
steganography techniques covered include least significant bit insertion, masking and filtering,
and algorithms and transformations. The tutorial does not cover other steganography techniques
such as distortion, spread spectrum steganography, and statistical steganography.
Since information hiding refers to both watermarking and steganography, digital watermarking is
briefly mentioned in the tutorial. As well, the tutorial contains a section on steganalysis.
Two steganographic program examples were selected from the Internet to include in the tutorial.

JPHS (Jpeg hide and seek) is a free program designed by Allan Latham.
4t HIT Mail Privacy LITE 1.01 is a tool provided free of charge by 4t Niagara Software.
3.2

Steganography for Computer Images

The challenge of using steganography in computer images is to hide as much data as possible
with the least noticeable difference in the image. There are a number of steganographic methods
and applications available for download on the Internet.
In general, the steganography process consists of the following steps:
Identifying redundant bits in a cover image.
Selecting a subset of the redundant bits to be replaced with the secret message. The stego
image is created by replacing these redundant bits with the message bits.
Information hidden by setting the least significant bits of the image pixels to the bits of the secret
data may be invisible to the human eye but it is relatively easy to detect and remove by a third
party who suspect the presence of the embedded data.
Steganography is more noticeable with JPEG images due to the lossy compression algorithm
used in JPEG files. There may be a significant difference between the file size of the cover image
and the stego image. The algorithm used also affects the probability of detection of the
steganography. An algorithm used to hide large amounts of information typically result in greater
change to the image appearance.
Refer to the tutorial for a detail explanation of how steganography is used in computer images.

A Generic Steganographic System

As with any other science, steganography has its own set of terminology. The term cover
is used to describe the original message in which we will hide our secret message. Once we
embed our secret message into the cover, the new message is known as the stego data. The
stego data is analogous the cipher text of cryptography.
A generic steganographic system, or stegosystem, works thusly. A secret message is
embedded into the cover data using some sort of embedding algorithm. The cover data may be a
single file, but that is not necessarily the case. The embedding algorithm then outputs the stego
data. There is, however, a minor detail that needs to be added to the system. Recall Kerckhoffs
principle, which states that the security of a system should not be based on the obscurity of the
algorithm, but on the strength of its key. Therefore the embedding algorithm should require a key
as an input. Additionally it is advisable to encrypt the secret message prior to embedding it.
Though embedding algorithms may take many forms, there are some requirements that
all embedding algorithms should meet. Firstly, the distortion of the cover data as a result of the
embedding algorithm should be as imperceptible as possible. Secondly, no part of the secret
message should be contained in the header of the stego data file. The message must become
part of the cover data and should be immune to manipulation attacks such as re-sampling or
filtering. Ideally, it would also be a good idea to include error correcting codes into the message
so that if the stego data is damaged, the message can still be recovered. Finally, it is imperative
that the original cover data never fall into the hands of an eavesdropper or be used twice. Since
the embedding process is additive, the secret message can be recovered if an eavesdropper has
different stego files which utilize the same cover data.

We will now explore some of the more popular techniques for embedding messages into
cover.
LSB Modification
LSB modification is perhaps the most popular method to embed a message into cover data. As
its name suggests, this method works by modifying the least significant bit of one of the RGB
values of the pixel data. The secret message data is then scattered pseudo-randomly across the
image. This technique is analogous to the spread spectrum communication technique of
frequency hopping.
This method is quite effective against human detection because it is difficult for the human eye to
discern an LSB modified pixel. Also, any modifications that are made could easily be attributed to
noise that may already be contained in the image. However, computer generated images, such
as those generated by vector drawing applications like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Flash, do
not contain much noise and would therefore make a poor choice as cover data.
While 24-bit true-color RGB data formats are best suited for LSB modification, it is possible to use
this method with 8-bit color-index data formats. This can be tricky, however, because the palette
is much smaller and pixel luminescence variation may be much greater and more easily detected.
Therefore, it is wise to attempt LSB modification with a grayscale or monochromatic cover image.
There are, however, problems with LSB modification. For one, this method will only work with
raw image data. Lossy image compression formats, such as JPEG, do not store images in an
RGB format and are therefore not as forgiving to simple bit manipulation. Another problem with
LSB manipulation is that if the stego data is compressed with a lossy compression algorithm, the
secret message may be destroyed.
JPEG Algorithms
While JPEG files are not as tolerant to bit manipulation as uncompressed image files, it is
still possible to use them as cover data. The key is to know where to hide the information.
The JPEG algorithm works by dividing an image into several 8 x 8 pixel matrices. Discrete cosine
transform (DCT) coefficients are then calculated for each matrix. The coefficients are then
multiplied by a quantization matrix. The results are then rounded off to the nearest integer. The
rounded numbers are then further compressed and the results are saved.
It is in these DCT values where we can hide our data. A typical approach involves slightly altering
a set of the largest DCT coefficients. These larger values contain the most energy and would
therefore produce the least amount of distortion in the image. Another approach is to choose
DCT coefficients that fall into a particular range so as to avoid perception.
The popular JPEG steganography algorithms, F5 and JSteg, both use DCT modification
to embed data. And while both algorithms generally escape human detection, they are both
detectable through statistical analysis.
Patchwork
Patchwork, an early steganographic algorithm, works by hiding a single bit in pairs of pixels that
are in different parts of the image. Here is a sketch of the Patchwork algorithm:
Create a pseudo-random bit stream to choose pairs of pixels from the cover data.
For each pair, let d be the difference between the two pixels.
Encode a bit of information into the pair. Let d < 0 represent 0 and d > 0 represent 1. If the pixels
are in the wrong order, switch them.
If d happens to be greater than a predefined threshold or if is equal to 0, disregard the pair and
move on to a new pair.
Because the algorithm involves swapping pixels, a fair amount of image distortion may occur.
Therefore, this algorithm is only suited for embedding a small amount of data. A benefit of this
algorithm can resilient against lossy compression algorithms if the message is redundantly
embedded.
Steganalysis
While steganography is the art of hiding data, steganalysis is the art of finding a
steganographic message. The art of detecting, decoding and altering messages hidden via
steganography is called steganalysis. It is easiest when before as well as after steganography
copies of file are present. Steganalysis can make the hidden data work against the creator. Any
malicious

interceptor could alter as carrier file without the knowledge of sender or the intended
receiver. Hence inaccurate or wrong data could be passed under identity of the original
sender. Attacks on a steganographic system can be summarized as follows:
Traffic analysis If an attacker suspects Alice and Bob are sending messages to each other, a
simple attack would be to monitor the information that they send to each other.
Detection Stego data can be detected through visual or statistical attacks. Visual attacks work
if the embedding algorithm causes noticeable artifacts in the stego data. Statistical attacks work
by comparing the frequencies of a potential stego file with the theoretically expected frequencies
of the file. While statistical attacks are quite effective in identifying stego, they cannot necessarily
recover the secret message.
Brute force - An attacker has received some stego data and is attempting to recover the
message. Unless the sender of the stego data used the same cover data twice, the attacker has
a copy of the cover data, the attacker has the key, or a poor key was used, this attack can be
difficult.
Manipulation By altering the stego data, an attacker may be able to destroy the message.
There are a number ways that this can be done: lossy compression, cropping (as with the Mosaic
attack), rotating, or scaling (as with Andersons Stirmark). This type of attack typically beats digital
watermarking.

STEGANOGRAPHY Vs CRYPTOGRAPHY
Steganography can be viewed as akin to cryptography. Both have been used throughout
recorded history as means to protect information. At times these two technologies seem
to converge while the objectives of the two differ. Cryptographic techniques "scramble"
messages so if intercepted, the messages cannot be understood. Steganography, an
essence, "camouflages" a message to hide its existence and make it seem "invisible" thus
concealing the fact that a message is being sent altogether. An encrypted message may
draw suspicion while an invisible message will not.
In an ideal world we would all be able to openly send encrypted email or files to each
other with no fear of reprisals. However there are often cases when this is not possible,
either because you are working for a company that does not allow encrypted email or
perhaps the local government does not approve of encrypted communication (a reality in
some parts of the world). This is where steganography can come into play.
A good steganography system should fulfill the same requirements posed by the
"Kerckhoff principle" in cryptography. This means that the security of the system has to
be based on the assumption that the "enemy" has full knowledge of the design and
implementation details of the steganographic system. The only missing information for
the "enemy" is a short easily exchangeable random number sequence, the secret key, and
without the secret key, the "enemy" should not have the slightest chance of even
becoming suspicious that on an observed communication channel hidden communication
might take place.
Steganography cannot be detected. Therefore, it is used when encryption is not permitted.
Or, more commonly, steganography is used to supplement encryption. An encrypted file
may still hide information using steganography, so even if the encrypted file is
deciphered, the hidden message is not seen.

Steganography has its place in security. It is not intended to replace cryptography but supplement
it. Hiding a message with steganography methods reduces the chance of a message being
detected. However, if that message is also encrypted, if discovered, it must also be cracked (yet
another layer of protection).

2.2 History and Steganography

Throughout history, a multitude of methods and variations have been used to hide information.
David Kahn's The Codebreakers provides an excellent accounting of this history [Kahn67]. Bruce
Norman recounts numerous tales of cryptography and steganography during times of war in
Secret Warfare: The Battle of Codes and Ciphers.
One of the first documents describing steganography is from the Histories of Herodotus. In
ancient Greece, text was written on wax covered tablets. In one story Demeratus wanted to notify
Sparta that Xerxes intended to invade Greece. To avoid capture, he scraped the wax off of the
tablets and wrote a message on the underlying wood. He then covered the tablets with wax
again. The tablets appeared to be blank and unused so they passed inspection by sentries
without question.
Another ingenious method was to shave the head of a messenger and tattoo a message or image
on the messengers head. After allowing his hair to grow, the message would be undetected until
the head was shaved again.
Another common form of invisible writing is through the use of Invisible inks. Such inks were used
with much success as recently as WWII. An innocent letter may contain a very different message
written between the lines [Zim48]. Early in WWII steganographic technology consisted almost
exclusively of invisible inks [Kahn67]. Common sources for invisible inks are milk, vinegar, fruit
juices and urine. All of these darken when heated.
With the improvement of technology and the ease as to the decoding of these invisible inks, more
sophisticated inks were developed which react to various chemicals. Some messages had to be
"developed" much as photographs are developed with a number of chemicals in processing labs.
Null ciphers (unencrypted messages) were also used. The real message is "camouflaged" in an
innocent sounding message. Due to the "sound" of many open coded messages, the suspect
communications were detected by mail filters. However "innocent" messages were allowed to
flow through. An example of a message containing such a null cipher is:
Fishing freshwater bends and saltwater
coasts rewards anyone feeling stressed.
Resourceful anglers usually find masterful
leapers fun and admit swordfish rank
overwhelming anyday.
By taking the third letter in each word, the following message emerges [Zevon]:
Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money.
The following message was actually sent by a German Spy in WWII [Kahn67]:
Apparently neutral's protest is thoroughly discounted
and ignored. Isman hard hit. Blockade issue affects
pretext for embargo on by products, ejecting suets and
vegetable oils.
Taking the second letter in each word the following message emerges:
Pershing sails from NY June 1.
As message detection improved, new technologies were developed which could pass more
information and be even less conspicuous. The Germans developed microdot technology which
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover referred to as "the enemy's masterpiece of espionage." Microdots

are photographs the size of a printed period having the clarity of standard-sized typewritten
pages. The first microdots were discovered masquerading as a period on a typed envelope
carried by a German agent in 1941. The message was not hidden, nor encrypted. It was just so
small as to not draw attention to itself (for a while). Besides being so small, microdots permitted
the transmission of large amounts of data including drawings and photographs [Kahn67].
With many methods being discovered and intercepted, the Office of Censorship took extreme
actions such as banning flower deliveries which contained delivery dates, crossword puzzles and
even report cards as they can all contain secret messages. Censors even went as far as
rewording letters and replacing stamps on envelopes.
With every discovery of a message hidden using an existing application, a new steganographic
application is being devised. There are even new twists to old methods. Drawings have often
been used to conceal or reveal information. It is simple to encode a message by varying lines,
colors or other elements in pictures. Computers take such a method to new dimensions as we will
see later.
Even the layout of a document can provide information about that document. Brassil et al
authored a series of publications dealing with document identification and marking by modulating
the position of lines and words [Brassil-Infocom94, Brassil- Infocom94, Brassil-CISS95]. Similar
techniques can also be used to provide some other "covert" information just as 0 and 1 are
informational bits for a computer. As in one of their examples, word-shifting can be used to help
identify an original document [Brassil-CISS95]. Though not applied as discussed in the series by
Brassil et al, a similar method can be applied to display an entirely different message. Take the
following sentence (S0):
We explore new steganographic and cryptographic
algorithms and techniques throughout the world to
produce wide variety and security in the electronic web
called the Internet.
and apply some word shifting algorithm (this is sentence S1).
We explore new steganographic and cryptographic
algorithms and techniques throughout the world to
produce wide variety and security in the electronic web
called the Internet.
By overlapping S0 and S1, the following sentence is the result:
We explore new steganographic and cryptographic
algorithms and techniques throughout the world to
produce wide variety and security in the electronic web
called the Internet.
This is achieved by expanding the space before explore, the, wide, and web by one point and
condensing the space after explore, world, wide and web by one point in sentence S1.
Independently, the sentences containing the shifted words appear harmless, but combining this
with the original sentence produces a different message: explore the world wide web.
3.3

More Recent Use of Steganography

A more recent use of steganography is in the design of covered channels in TCP/IP for thwarting
filters and firewalls. Although this steganography method is not covered in the tutorial it warrants
a brief mention in the report.
The following is a simple explanation of the build-up of a TCP/IP connection:

For each connection there is a send sequence number and a receive sequence number. The
synchronization requires each side to send its own initial sequence number and to receive a
confirmation of it in acknowledgment from the other side. Each side must receive the other side's
initial sequence number and send a confirmation acknowledgment.
1) A --> B
2) A <-- B
3) A <-- B
4) A --> B

SYN my sequence number is X

ACK your sequence number is X
SYN my sequence number is Y
ACK your sequence number is Y

Since step 2 and 3 can be combined in a single message this is called a three-way handshake. In
this three-way handshake hidden data can be embedded in the packet header.
For example, host A sends a synchronization package and an initial sequence number to host B
requesting acknowledgement. Host B answers with an initial sequence number increased by one
and its acknowledgement. The connection is established by the acknowledgement from host A to
host B. By embedding hidden identification information in the header data it is possible to create a
'bounce' effect. Host A sends the package to host B, but this time, due to the hidden data in the
header, host B sends the acknowledgement that was meant for host A to host C. Host C can
establish the connection anonymously without host B knowing that host C is not host A.
4.

Conclusion

Steganography is not intended to replace cryptography but rather to supplement it. If a message
is encrypted and hidden with a steganographic method it provides an additional layer of
protection and reduces the chance of the hidden message being detected.
Steganography is still a fairly new concept to the general public although this is likely not true in
the world of secrecy and espionage. Digital watermark technology is currently being used to track
the copyright and ownership of digital content. Efforts to improve the robustness of the
watermarks are necessary to ensure that the watermarks and embedded information can
securely defend against watermarking attacks.
With continuous advancements in technology it is expected that in the near future more efficient
and advanced techniques in steganalysis will emerge that will help law enforcement to better
detect illicit materials transmitted through the Internet.
Steganography goes well beyond simply hiding text information in an image. Steganography
applies not only to digital images but to other media as well, such as audio files, communication
channels, and other text and binary files.
ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS
The advantages of Steganography are:
1.
It provides a better security for the sharing of data in local area network.
2.
Important files carrying confidential information can be stored in the server in an
encrypted form.
3.
Using public key or private key can encrypt files.
4.
No intruder can get any useful information from the original file during transmit.
5.
It provides a better-secured data storage and transmission both at the system level and
network level.
The limitations of Steganography are:
1.
It provides the storing of data in an unprotected mode.
2.
Password leakage may occur and it leads to the unauthorized access of data.
3.
The intruders will affect stegos.

CONCLUSION
In the area of communication revolution, information has been an inevitable component. The
attraction of web services is simplicity, firewall neutrality and lack of dependency on the
implementation technology at the service end.
Efficient computing capabilities are therefore utilized. The availability of the required information
at the press of a button is something favourable and therefore computers are used for this
purpose. Thus, one way of potential taping is achieved.
The projects "Steganography" after being tested and was found to be achieving what is meant for.
But this system never provides a full proof solution for all their problems in the user point of view.
The system is found to be 100% error free and ready for implementation.
The system has been designed in such a way that it can be modified with very little effort when
such a need arises in the future. The system has been found to work efficiently and effectively.
Due to its higher user friendliness, others may use these documents as a prototype for
developing similar application.
SOME OUTSTANDING FACTS
1. Steganos Security suite 4 uses powerful 128-bit encryption. It would take 1 billion
powerful computers million of years to try every combination to gain access to your
personal information. This software uses steganography along with encryption to
completely secure your data.
2. Blindside is an application of steganography that allows you to conceal a single file or
set of files within a standard computer image. The new image looks identical to the
original, but can contain up to 50k of data. The hidden files can also be password
encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.
3. Mp3stego hides information in mp3 files during the compression process. The data is
first compressed, encrypted and then hidden in the mp3 bit stream. Although
mp3stego was written with steganographic applications in mind, it can also be used as
a copyright marking system for mp3 files.
RECENTLY, NEWS CONFIRMED THAT MASTERMIND OSAMA BIN LADEN
WAS USING STEGANOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES FOR ORDERING HIS
FOLLOWERS.
However really good steganography is much more difficult and usage of most of the
currently available steganographic tools might be quite easily detected using sufficiently
careful analysis of the transmitted data. The noise on analog systems has a large number
of properties very characteristic to the channel and the equipment used in the
communication system. A good steganographic system has to observe the channel, has to
build a model of the type of noise which is present and has then to adapt the parameters
of its own encoding algorithms so that the noise replacement fits the model parameters of
the noise on the channel as well as possible. Whether the steganographic system is really
secure depends on whether the "enemy" has a more sophisticated model of the noise on
the channel than the one used in the steganographic system.
Common communication systems have a huge number of characteristics and only a small
fraction of what looks like noise can actually be replaced by the statistically very clean
noise of a cryptographic cipher text. Noise in communication systems is often created by
modulation, quantization and signal cross-over and is heavily influenced by these
mechanisms and in addition by all kinds of filters, echo cancellation units, data format
converters, etc. Many steganographic systems have to work in noisy environments and
consequently require synchronization and forward error correction mechanisms that also
have to be undetectable as long as the secret key is unknown.
It is my impression that the field of steganography has not yet been examined in detail by
the scientific community outside the military world. Many of the above mentioned

problems in the design of high quality steganographic systems have not been addressed in
the literature and only very few attempts of practical solutions have been published and
analyzed so far.
In order to encourage discussion and cooperation in the field of steganography, the
STEGANO-L mailing list has been established. We want to invite people with a good
background in modern communication systems, cryptography, digital signal processing,
information theory, mathematics, etc. to publish tools for steganographic systems, to
attack these and discuss weaknesses and possible improvements and to collect statistic
www.studymafia.org
and signal processing software tools as well as sample data that can be used for quality
control of steganographic systems.
Glossary
Cover image - An image containing an embedded message.
Cypher text Refers to encrypted data.
Cryptography The art of protecting information by encrypting it into an unreadable format, called
cipher text. A secret key is used to decrypt the message into plain text.
Encryption The translation of data into a secret code.
Least significant bit (LSB) - The bit contributing the least value in a string of bits.
Lossless compression - For most types of data, lossless compression techniques can reduce the
space needed by only about 50%. No data is lost in the process. For greater compression, one
must use a lossy compression technique.
Lossy compression - Lossy compression technologies attempt to eliminate redundant or
unnecessary information. Some amount of data is lost in the process.
Plain text Refers to any message that is not encrypted - also called clear text.
Steganalysis The art of discovering and rendering useless covert messages.
Steganography - A means of overlaying one set of information ("message") on another (a cover).
Stego image - The result of combining the cover image and the embedded message.
Stego text It is the result of applying some steganographic process to a plain text (not
necessarily encrypted).
TCP/IP - The Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol is the standard protocol suite used
on the Internet.

6.

References and Bibliography

1.
iNFOSYSSEC. Cryptography, Encryption and Stenography.
[online]http://www.infosyssec.org/infosyssec/cry2.htm
2.

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia. Steganography. [online] Available at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography
3.
Johnson, N. F., Jajodia, S. Steganalysis: The Investigation of Hidden Information. [online]
Available at http://www.jjtc.com/pub/it98a.htm
4.
Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia. Steganalysis. [online] Available at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganalysis
5.
Gupta, M. Steganography is more than a tool for spies. [online] Eurescom 2001. Available
at http://www.eurescom.de/message/messageSep2001/stegano.asp