Steganography

 The term ‘Steganography’ originates from the combination of two Greek words: ‘stegos’ means ‘to cover’ and
‘graphia’ means ‘writing’. This results in the interpretation of ‘covered writing’ or ‘hidden writing’.
 Steganography entails a technique for concealing confidential information by discreetly inserting it within files
such as audio, video, image or text. It stands as an approach utilized to safeguard secret or sensitive data from
potential malicious attacks.
 It is the art and science of embedding secret messages in a cover message in such a way that no one, apart form
the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message.
Thus, Steganography is like hiding a secret message within an ordinary message or object so that only the
intended recipient knows it's there. Imagine writing a secret note and hiding it inside a regular-looking photo or
a piece of text. To anyone else, it just looks like a normal photo or text, but the person who knows where to look
can find and read the hidden message. It's a way to keep information secret by making it appear as something
else.

Types of Steganography:
Steganography can be applied in various ways, depending on the type of cover medium used to hide the secret
information. Here are some common types of steganography with examples:

1. Text Steganography

 Meaning: Hiding a secret message within a text document by altering the formatting, like changing the font size,
color, or even using certain letters or words in a predetermined way.
 Example: Inserting additional spaces or using specific patterns of capital letters in a paragraph to encode
information.

2. Image Steganography

 Meaning: Hiding a secret message within an image by altering the least significant bits (LSB) of the pixel values.
The changes are subtle and usually imperceptible to the human eye.
 Example: A 100x100 pixel image can hide a 10,000-bit message by changing the least significant bit of each
pixel's color value.

3. Audio Steganography

 Meaning: Embedding a secret message within an audio file by modifying the least significant bits of the audio
samples.
 Example: Slightly altering the echo or adjusting the frequency of the audio signal to encode information without
noticeable changes to the sound quality.

4. Video Steganography

 Meaning: Hiding information within video files by modifying the pixel values or audio track in each frame.
 Example: Embedding a secret message in a video file by altering the color values of specific frames in a way that
is undetectable during playback.

5. Network Steganography

 Meaning: Hiding information within network traffic by manipulating packet headers, timing, or sequence
numbers.
  Example: Using covert channels in TCP/IP protocol to transmit hidden data alongside regular network
communication.

6. DNA Steganography

 Meaning: Hiding information within synthetic DNA sequences by encoding data as a sequence of nucleotides (A,
T, C, G).
 Example: Designing a DNA sequence where specific combinations of nucleotides represent the hidden
information.

7. Steganography in Files and Documents

 Meaning: Embedding a secret message within a file or document by using metadata, file structure, or unused
sections of the file.
 Example: Hiding information in the metadata of a PDF document or within the unused portions of a Word
document.

Difference between Steganography and Cryptography:

Steganography Cryptography
Definition Definition
Hides the existence of the message within another Encrypts the message to make it unreadable to anyone except
medium. the intended recipient.
Purpose Purpose
To conceal the presence of the message. To protect the content of the message from unauthorized
access.
Visibility Visibility
The message is hidden and not visible to observers. The encrypted message is visible but appears as gibberish.
Security Approach Security Approach
Security through obscurity. Security through complex algorithms and encryption keys.
Example Example
Embedding a secret text message within an image file Encrypting a text message using AES (Advanced Encryption
by altering the least significant bits of the image Standard) so that it can only be decrypted by someone with the
pixels. correct key.
Detection Detection
If done well, it is difficult to detect that a hidden Easy to detect that a message is encrypted, but difficult to
message exists. decrypt without the key.
Use Case Use Case
A spy sends a secret image with hidden instructions A person sends sensitive data (like a password) over the
embedded in it. internet using encryption to prevent interception.
Tools Tools
Tools like Steghide or OpenStego for embedding data Tools like OpenSSL or GnuPG for encrypting and decrypting
in images or audio. messages.

Both steganography and cryptography aim to secure information, but they do so in fundamentally different ways:
steganography by hiding the message and cryptography by transforming the message into an unreadable format.

Some common techniques used for Steganography:

Several common techniques are used in steganography to embed secret information within various media types. Here
are some of the best-known techniques:
1. Least Significant Bit (LSB) Insertion

 Description: The least significant bit of each byte in the cover medium (e.g., image, audio) is replaced with a bit
from the secret message.
 Example: In a 24-bit color image, the LSB of each of the red, green, and blue color channels can be altered to
hide data.

2. Masking and Filtering

 Description: This technique hides data by masking the cover medium, often used with images. It works with 24-
bit and grayscale images.
 Example: A watermark is embedded into an image in a way that is visible only under certain conditions or to
specialized software.

3. Transform Domain Techniques

 Description: Data is embedded in the transform space of the cover medium, such as frequency or wavelet
domain, rather than the spatial domain.
 Example: Embedding data in the DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) coefficients of a JPEG image. This method is
more robust to compression.

4. Spread Spectrum

 Description: Similar to spread spectrum in communication, the hidden data is spread across a wide frequency
spectrum.
 Example: In audio files, the secret message is spread over a wide frequency band, making it less susceptible to
noise and tampering.

5. Statistical Methods

 Description: Modifying the statistical properties of the cover medium to hide information.
 Example: Modifying the distribution of pixel values in an image so that the hidden data alters the image's
statistical characteristics.

6. Least Significant Bit Matching (LSBM)

 Description: Similar to LSB, but instead of just replacing bits, the cover medium's pixel values are incremented
or decremented to match the message bit.
 Example: If a pixel's LSB needs to be changed, the algorithm adds or subtracts 1 from the pixel's value to match
the desired bit.

7. Adaptive Steganography

 Description: Adapts the embedding process based on the cover medium's characteristics, often using machine
learning techniques.
 Example: Analyzing an image to determine the most appropriate regions for embedding data without noticeable
distortion.

8. Palette-Based Techniques

 Description: Used with images that use a palette, such as GIFs. Data is hidden by rearranging the color palette.
 Example: Modifying the color palette indices in a GIF image to encode information.
9. Echo Hiding

 Description: Used in audio steganography, this technique introduces an echo into the audio signal to encode
information.
 Example: Adjusting the echo's delay and amplitude to represent binary data.

10. Matrix Embedding

 Description: A method that improves the efficiency of data hiding by embedding fewer changes in the cover
medium.
 Example: Using matrix encoding to minimize the number of altered bits while embedding a message in an
image.

(For practical of Steganography we can use OpenStego tool)