Lossless data hiding using bit-depth embedding for JPEG2000 compressed bit-stream

We have proposed a reversible information hiding for binary images. In this paper, we presents a lossless data hiding method for JPEG2000 compressed data based on the reversible information hiding. In JPEG2000 compression, wavelet coefficients of an image are quantized,therefore, the least significant bit plane (LSB) can be extracted. The proposed method recovers the quantized wavelet coefficients of cover images from stego images. To realize this, we embed not only secret data and the JBIG2 bit-stream of a part of the LSB plane but also the bit-depth of the quantized coefficients on some code-blocks.Experimental results demonstrate the　feasibility of application of the proposed method to image alteration detection for JPEG2000 compressed data.2008 International Conference on Intelligent Information Hiding and Multimedia Signal Processing, 15-17 Aug. 2008, Harbin, Chin

SUDS: Sanitizing Universal and Dependent Steganography

Steganography, or hiding messages in plain sight, is a form of information hiding that is most commonly used for covert communication. As modern steganographic mediums include images, text, audio, and video, this communication method is being increasingly used by bad actors to propagate malware, exfiltrate data, and discreetly communicate. Current protection mechanisms rely upon steganalysis, or the detection of steganography, but these approaches are dependent upon prior knowledge, such as steganographic signatures from publicly available tools and statistical knowledge about known hiding methods. These dependencies render steganalysis useless against new or unique hiding methods, which are becoming increasingly common with the application of deep learning models. To mitigate the shortcomings of steganalysis, this work focuses on a deep learning sanitization technique called SUDS that is not reliant upon knowledge of steganographic hiding techniques and is able to sanitize universal and dependent steganography. SUDS is tested using least significant bit method (LSB), dependent deep hiding (DDH), and universal deep hiding (UDH). We demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of SUDS by answering five research questions, including baseline comparisons and an ablation study. Additionally, we apply SUDS to a real-world scenario, where it is able to increase the resistance of a poisoned classifier against attacks by 1375%.Comment: Accepted to European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) 202

Watermarking technique based on ISB (Intermediate Significant Bit)

Digital watermarking is a special case of the general information hiding problem. It inserts a perceptually transparent pattern called watermark in an image called host or cover using an embedding algorithm. The purpose of the watermark is to supply the ownership of the image or copyright protection information. The energy of the embedded data should be low enough when projected onto the human perception domain but it should be strong enough for robust machine detection. Least Significant Bit (LSB) technique is the earliest developed technique in watermarking and it is also the most simple, direct and common technique. It essentially involves embedding the watermark by replacing the least significant bit of the image data with a bit of the watermark data. The disadvantage of LSB is that it is not robust against attacks. The aim of this study is to develop a robust watermarking model using spatial domain technique and at the same time maintaining important watermarking requirements of picture quality. The new model has been developed based on intermediate significant bit (ISB) aim to replace the watermarked image pixels by new pixels that can protect the watermark data against attacks and at the same time keeping the new pixels very close to the original pixels in order to protect the quality of watermarked image. The technique is based on testing the value of the watermark pixel according to the range of each bit-plane. The main contribution of this research is replacing the classic least significant bits (LSB) technique by a new technique called intermediate significant bits ISB, which improves the robustness and maintains the quality of watermarked images

Micro protocol engineering for unstructured carriers: On the embedding of steganographic control protocols into audio transmissions

Network steganography conceals the transfer of sensitive information within unobtrusive data in computer networks. So-called micro protocols are communication protocols placed within the payload of a network steganographic transfer. They enrich this transfer with features such as reliability, dynamic overlay routing, or performance optimization --- just to mention a few. We present different design approaches for the embedding of hidden channels with micro protocols in digitized audio signals under consideration of different requirements. On the basis of experimental results, our design approaches are compared, and introduced into a protocol engineering approach for micro protocols.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

Very fast watermarking by reversible contrast mapping

Reversible contrast mapping (RCM) is a simple integer transform that applies to pairs of pixels. For some pairs of pixels, RCM is invertible, even if the least significant bits (LSBs) of the transformed pixels are lost. The data space occupied by the LSBs is suitable for data hiding. The embedded information bit-rates of the proposed spatial domain reversible watermarking scheme are close to the highest bit-rates reported so far. The scheme does not need additional data compression, and, in terms of mathematical complexity, it appears to be the lowest complexity one proposed up to now. A very fast lookup table implementation is proposed. Robustness against cropping can be ensured as well