The Application of Steganography in Image and Text

Steganography is necessary for hiding confidential data from wrong recipients. The differences in the methods of Steganography lie with the carrier mode of the hidden message. Therefore, the steganography methods include steganography in image, audio, and text.

Steganography Types

Source: Hariri, Karimi, and Nosrati, (2011)

Steganography in texts can be achieved through either changing specific characters of the text or changing the text formatting. Text steganography focuses on developing decodable and reliable text alterations to the intended recipient. An author can employ various techniques to hide confidential data while communicating with intended persons. The coding techniques include Line-Shift Coding, Word-Shift Coding and Feature Coding (Hariri, Karimi, and Nosrati, 2011).

Audio steganography embeds the confidential message into a digital audio signal which varies slightly from the original audio file through slight alteration on the binary sequence. The following methods are used in the audio modification; LSB Coding, Phase Coding, Spread Spectrum, and Echo Hiding Coding (Hariri, Karimi, and Nosrati, 2011). 

In image steganography, a secret message is hidden by altering the image in ‘areas with many color variations’ (Hariri, Karimi, and Nosrati, 2011; p. 192). Conventional methods used in image alterations include Least Significant Bits, Masking and filtering, and Transformations.      

References

Hariri, M., Karimi, R., & Nosrati, M. (2011). An introduction to steganography methods. World Applied Programming, 1(3), 191-195.

Question 2

Computer users need to perform some countermeasures that protect their systems from malware threats. Flores and Ekstedt (2013) suggest some of the countermeasures which include:

i. All computer software and systems should be purchased or downloaded from trusted and liable sources.

ii. Ensure that computer software and applications are up-to-date by updating the operating systems on time to reduce computer vulnerability to various security threats.

iii. Installing effective and updated computer anti-virus software is crucial in preventing systems from viruses and Trojans. Performing regular scans will be necessary to keep threats at bay.

iv. Secure storage of crucial data is essential in ensuring that malware threats are thwarted, and computer systems remain safe. Also, updated back-up and data recovery options need to be implemented ensuring that compromised data can be retrieved safely.  

References

Flores, W. R., & Ekstedt, M. (2013). Countermeasures for Social Engineering-based Malware Installation Attacks. In CONF-IRM (p. 1-11).