Steganography “Hiding in Plain Sight” Gary Alan Davis, D.Sc. Department of Computer & Information Systems

Steganography – what is it? Covered Writing (Berinato, 2003) –from Greek “steganos” & “graphie” Earliest example (May, 1997) –Greece, 500 B.C. –Message tattooed on shaved head of slave –Message sent when hair grew back Goal: Hide the fact that message even exists (Glass, 2002)

Steganography in Technology Hiding messages within legitimate files –Picture (.bmp,.jpeg,.gif) –Audio (.wav,.mp3) –Video (.mpeg,.avi) Messages could be... (Fisher, 2004) –Trademark/copyright information –Communication to others –Malicious code

Good Steganography Watermarks –Identify copyrighted material –Deter unlicensed use –Deter piracy Digital Watermarks (Glass, 2002) –Robust Watermarks – use blocked if mark is detected –Fragile Watermarks – use blocked if mark is corrupted

Bad Steganography Malicious code (Fisher, 2004) –Viruses –Spyware Terrorist Communications (Kolata, 2001) –“Dead Drop” (e.g., eBay) –No direct communication –Difficult to detect hidden messages in files

Steganography Demo Steganography day free trial $24.95 to purchase SecureKit, Inc. (

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