STEGANOGRAPHY

-Divya Mittal BT-IT (Roll No. 14)

What is Steganography?
Steganography is the art and science of communicating in a way which hides the existence of the communication. The goal of steganography is to hide messages inside other harmless messages in a way that does not allow any enemy to even detect that there is a second message present.

Steganograhy Terms
Carrier File A file which has hidden information inside of it. Steganalysis The process of detecting hidden information inside of a file. Stego-Medium The medium in which the information is hidden. Redundant Bits Pieces of information inside a file which can be overwritten or altered without damaging the file. Payload The information which is to be concealed.

HISTORY
During World War 2 invisible ink was used to write on pieces of paper so that the paper appeared to the average person as just being blank pieces of paper. In Ancient Greece they used to select messengers and shave their head, they would then write a message on their head. Once the message had been written the hair was allowed to grow back.After the hair grew back the messenger was sent to deliver the message, the recipient would shave off the messengers hair to see the secret message. Another method used in Greece was where someone would peel wax off a tablet that was covered in wax, write a message underneath the wax then re-apply the wax.

Types of Steganography
Pure Steganography:
It is defined as a steganographic system that does not require the exchange of a cipher such as a stego-key. This method of Steganography is the least secure means by which to communicate secretly because the sender and receiver can rely only upon the presumption that no other parties are aware of this secret message.

Types of Steganography
Secret Key Steganography: It is defined as a steganographic system that requires the exchange of a secret key (stego-key) prior to communication. Secret Key Steganography takes a cover message and embeds the secret message inside of it by using a secret key (stego-key).

Types of Steganography
Public Key Steganography: It is defined as a steganographic system that uses a public key and a private key to secure the communication between the parties wanting to communicate secretly. The sender will use the public key during the encoding process and only the private key can decipher the secret message.

Prisoners Problem
Alice and Bob are in jail and wish to hatch an escape plan. All their communications pass through the warden,Wendy, and if Wendy detects any encrypted messages, he can simply stop the communication. So they must find some way of hiding their secret message in an innocuous looking text.

Encoding Secret message in Text

Encoding secret messages in text can be a very challenging task. This is because text files have a very small amount of redundant data to replace with a secret message. Numerous methods by which to accomplish text based Steganography: 1. Line-shift encoding involves shifting each line of text vertically up or down by as little as 3 centimeters. Depending on whether the line was up or down from the stationary line would equate to a value that would or could be encoded into a secret message.

Encoding Secret message in Text

2. In Word-shift encoding, we use the horizontal spaces between words to equate a value for the hidden message. This method of encoding is less visible than line-shift encoding but requires that the text format support variable spacing. 3. Feature specific encoding involves encoding secret messages into formatted text by changing certain text attributes such as vertical/horizontal length of letters such as b, d, T, etc. This is by far the hardest text encoding method to intercept as each type of formatted text has a large amount of features that can be used for encoding the secret message.

Steganography in Images
When hiding information inside images the LSB (Least Significant Byte) method is usually used. The best type of image file to hide information inside of is a 24 Bit BMP (Bitmap) image. When an image is of high quality and resolution it is a lot easier to hide and mask information inside of. Although 24 Bit images are best for hiding information due to their size some people may choose to use 8 Bit BMPs, the reason being is that posting of large images on the internet may arouse suspicion.

Steganography in Audio
Technique used for hiding information inside Audio files is low bit encoding. The problem with low bit encoding is that it is usually noticeable to the human ear. Spread Spectrum is another method used to conceal information inside of an audio file. This method works by adding random noises to the signal the information is conceal inside a carrier and spread across the frequency spectrum. Echo data hiding is yet another method of hiding information inside an audio file. This method uses the echoes in sound files in order to try and hide information.

Applications
Usage in modern printers: Steganography is used by some modern printers, including HP and Xerox brand color laser printers. Tiny yellow dots are added to each page. The dots are barely visible and contain encoded printer serial numbers, as well as date and time stamps. Confidential communication and secret data storing Protection of data alteration Access control system for digital content distribution Media Database systems

Advantages
Steganography is beneficial for securely storing sensitive data. "Encrypt" without arising suspicion Only the transmitter and recipient know there is a message

Disadvantages
It can also pose serious problems because it's difficult to detect. The date often in plain text - making it easier to decode once you figure out that it is there. Hard to know if a file contains hidden data, posing security risks.

Any Questions?