One-Time Pad Encryption Steganography System

In this paper we introduce and describe a novel approach to adaptive image steganography which is combined with One-Time Pad encryption, and demonstrate the software which implements this methodology. Testing using the state-of-the-art steganalysis software tool StegExpose concludes the image hiding is reliably secure and undetectable using reasonably-sized message payloads (≤25% message bits per image pixel; bpp). Payload image file format outputs from the software include PNG, BMP, JP2, JXR, J2K, TIFF, and WEBP. A variety of file output formats is empirically important as most steganalysis programs will only accept PNG, BMP, and possibly JPG, as the file inputs. Keywords: steganography, one-time pad, steganalysis, information hiding, digital forensic

New approach of hidden data in the portable executable file without change the size of carrier file using statistical technique

The rapid development of multimedia and internet allows for wide distribution of digital media data. It becomes much easier to edit, modify and duplicate digital information. In additional, digital document is also easy to copy and distribute, therefore it may face many threats. It became necessary to find an appropriate protection due to the significance, accuracy and sensitivity of the information. The strength of the hiding science is due to the non-existence of standard algorithms to be used in hiding secret messages. Also there is randomness in hiding methods such as combining several media (covers) with different methods to pass a secret message. Furthermore, there is no formal method to be followed to discover a hidden data. In this paper, a new information hiding system is presented. The aim of the proposed system is to hide information (data file) in an execution file (EXE) without change the size of execution file. The new proposed system is able to embed information in an execution file without change the size of execution file. Meanwhile, since the cover file might be used to identify hiding information, the proposed system considers overcoming this dilemma by using the execution file as a cover file

Smart techniques and tools to detect Steganography - a viable practice to Security Office Department

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementInternet is today a commodity and a way for being connect to the world. It is through Internet is where most of the information is shared and where people run their businesses. However, there are some people that make a malicious use of it. Cyberattacks have been increasing all over the recent years, targeting people and organizations, looking to perform illegal actions. Cyber criminals are always looking for new ways to deliver malware to victims to launch an attack. Millions of users share images and photos on their social networks and generally users find them safe to use. Contrary to what most people think, images can contain a malicious payload and perform harmful actions. Steganography is the technique of hiding data, which, combined with media files, can be used to place malicious code. This problem, leveraged by the continuous media file sharing through massive use of digital platforms, may become a worldwide threat in malicious content sharing. Like phishing, people and organizations must be trained to suspect about inappropriate content and implement the proper set of actions to reduce probability of infections when accessing files supposed to be inoffensive. The aim of this study will try to help people and organizations by trying to set a toolbox where it can be possible to get some tools and techniques to assist in dealing with this kind of situations. A theoretical overview will be performed over other concepts such as Steganalysis, touching also Deep Learning and in Machine Learning to assess which is the range of its applicability in find solutions in detection and facing these situations. In addition, understanding the current main technologies, architectures and users’ hurdles will play an important role in designing and developing the proposed toolbox artifact

Dynamic hashing technique for bandwidth reduction in image transmission

Hash functions are widely used in secure communication systems by generating the message digests for detection of unauthorized changes in the files. Encrypted hashed message or digital signature is used in many applications like authentication to ensure data integrity. It is almost impossible to ensure authentic messages when sending over large bandwidth in highly accessible network especially on insecure channels. Two issues that required to be addressed are the large size of hashed message and high bandwidth. A collaborative approach between encoded hash message and steganography provides a highly secure hidden data. The aim of the research is to propose a new method for producing a dynamic and smaller encoded hash message with reduced bandwidth. The encoded hash message is embedded into an image as a stego-image to avoid additional file and consequently the bandwidth is reduced. The receiver extracts the encoded hash and dynamic hashed message from the received file at the same time. If decoding encrypted hash by public key and hashed message from the original file matches the received file, it is considered as authentic. In enhancing the robustness of the hashed message, we compressed or encoded it or performed both operations before embedding the hashed data into the image. The proposed algorithm had achieved the lowest dynamic size (1 KB) with no fix length of the original file compared to MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-2 hash algorithms. The robustness of hashed message was tested against the substitution, replacement and collision attacks to check whether or not there is any detection of the same message in the output. The results show that the probability of the existence of the same hashed message in the output is closed to 0% compared to the MD5 and SHA algorithms. Amongst the benefits of this proposed algorithm is computational efficiency, and for messages with the sizes less than 1600 bytes, the hashed file reduced the original file up to 8.51%

Steganography A Data Hiding Technique

Steganography implements an encryption technique in which communication takes place by hiding information. A hidden message is the combination of a secret message with the carrier message. This technique can be used to hide the message in an image, a video file, an audio file or in a file system. There are large variety of steganography techniques that will be used for hiding secret information in images. The final output image is called as a stego-image which consists of a secret message or information. Imperceptibility, payload, and robustness are three most important parameters for audio steganography. For a more secure approach, encryption can be used, which will encrypt the secret message using a secret key and then sent to the receiver. The receiver after receiving the message then decrypts the secret message to obtain the original one. In this paper, compared steganography with cryptography, which is an encrypting technique and explained how steganography provides better security in terms of hiding the secret message. In this paper, the various techniques are illustrated, which are used in steganography and studying the implementation of those techniques. Also, demonstrated the implementation process of one of the steganography techniques. A comparative analysis is performed between various steganographic tools by using the sample test images and test data. The quality metrics such as PSNR and SSIM are calculated for the final output images which are used for rating the tools. This paper also discusses about the Steganalysis which is known as the process of identifying the use of steganography

Taxonomy for Anti-Forensics Techniques & Countermeasures

Computer Forensic Tools are used by forensics investigators to analyze evidence from the seized devices collected at a crime scene or from a person, in such ways that the results or findings can be used in a court of law. These computer forensic tools are very important and useful as they help the law enforcement personnel to solve crimes. Computer criminals are now aware of the forensics tools used; therefore, they use countermeasure techniques to efficiently obstruct the investigation processes. By doing so, they make it difficult or almost impossible for investigators to uncover the evidence. These techniques, used against the computer forensics processes, are called Anti-forensics. This paper describes some of the many anti-forensics’ method, techniques and tools using a taxonomy. The taxonomy classified anti-forensics into different levels and different categories: WHERE, WHICH, WHAT, and HOW. The WHERE level indicates where anti-forensics can occur during an investigation. The WHICH level indicates which anti-forensics techniques exist. The WHAT level defines the exact method used for each technique. Finally, the HOW level indicates the tools used. Additionally, some countermeasures were proposed