| Peer-Reviewed

A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique

Received: 5 July 2022    Accepted: 11 October 2022    Published: 6 July 2023
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Steganography is the art of hiding secret messages into cover during communication. Steganography is a technique for sending secret messages across ordinary cover carriers in such a way that the presence of the messages is unnoticed. There are various steganographic techniques based on the cover being used in the steganographic process. The covers can be an image, audio, video, and text. The most widely used steganographic technique nowadays is Image Steganography. Image steganography is hiding the existence of the data using the image as the cover object. Most of the image steganographic technique hides the secret messages as plaintext and intruders may try to extract the secret message if he/she knows that the image being communicated is a stego image. In this paper, a web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) image steganographic technique with two layers of AES encryption that does not require a key exchange mechanism between sender and receiver is explained. The proposed method follows six step mechanism on the sender’s side which includes user authentication to initiate communication, two 128-bit key generation and storing it to the central server database, message encryption using one of the generated keys in previous step and image encryption using another key followed by the image steganography. The image generated after sixth step is ready to send via any medium to the receiver. The receiver of the image also follows six steps process to convert the stego image to the decrypted message. After completing the authentication, receiver inputs the received image from the sebder and the system checks for the integrity of the inputted image. Once the integrity is verified, the system pulls the decryption keys from the database. Using this decryption keys, the image decryption and message takes place. The goal of the proposed method is to avoid key exchange mechanism using client/server architecture. The proposed method encrypts the secret message and stego image to add another layer of security.

Published in Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12
Page(s) 12-18
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Image Steganography, Cryptography, Advanced Encryption Standard, Image Encryption, Least Significant Bit (LSB) Steganography

References
[1] A. Singh and H. Singh, "An improved LSB based image steganography technique for RGB images," 2015 IEEE International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Communication Technologies (ICECCT), 2015, pp. 1-4, DOI: 10.1109/ICECCT.2015.7226122.
[2] J. Clerk Maxwell, A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd ed., vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon, 1892, pp. 68–73.
[3] Nadeem Akhtar, Pragati Johri and Shahbaaz Khan, "Enhancing the Security and Quality of LSB based Image Steganography", IEEE 5th International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Computer Networks, pp. 385-390, September 2013.
[4] Text extraction from image using LSB based steganography. (2019, -03-15T18:42:30+00:00). Retrieved from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/text-extraction-from-image-using-lsb-based-steganography/
[5] J. Fridrich and M. Long, "Steganalysis of LSB encoding in color images", 2000 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo. ICME2000. Proceedings. Latest Advances in the Fast Changing World of Multimedia (Cat. No. 00TH8532), vol. 3, pp. 1279-1282, July 2000.
[6] P. P. Bandekar and G. C. Suguna, "LSB Based Text and Image Steganography Using AES Algorithm," 2018 3rd International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems (ICCES), 2018, pp. 782-788, doi: 10.1109/CESYS.2018.8724069.
[7] Bhattacharyya, Dr. Souvik & Banerjee, Dr- Indradip & Sanyal, Prof (Dr.) Goutam. (2011). Data Hiding Through Multi Level Steganography and SSCE. Journal of Global Research in Computer Science.
[8] Shashikala, Channalli & Ajay, Jadhav. (2009). Steganography An Art of Hiding Data. International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering. 1.
[9] M. S. Hossen, M. A. Islam, T. Khatun, S. Hossain and M. M. Rahman, "A New Approach to Hiding Data in the Images Using Steganography Techniques Based on AES and RC5 Algorithm Cryptosystem," 2020 International Conference on Smart Electronics and Communication (ICOSEC), 2020, pp. 676-681, doi: 10.1109/ICOSEC49089.2020.9215442.
[10] M. S. Abbas, S. S. Mahdi and S. A. Hussien, "Security Improvement of Cloud Data Using Hybrid Cryptography and Steganography," 2020 International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSASE), 2020, pp. 123-127, doi: 10.1109/CSASE48920.2020.9142072.
[11] M. S. Hasan Talukder, M. N. Hasan, R. I. Sultan, M. Rahman, A. K. Sarkar and S. Akter, "An Enhanced Method for Encrypting Image and Text Data Simultaneously using AES Algorithm and LSB-Based Steganography," 2022 International Conference on Advancement in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (ICAEEE), 2022, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/ICAEEE54957.2022.9836589.
[12] W. Dharma Walidaniy, M. Yuliana and H. Briantoro, "Improvement of PSNR by Using Shannon-Fano Compression Technique in AES-LSB StegoCrypto," 2022 International Electronics Symposium (IES), 2022, pp. 285-290, doi: 10.1109/IES55876.2022.9888656.
[13] S. Khalifeh, J. Georgi and S. Shakhatreh, "Design and Implementation of a Steganography-based System that Provides Protection for Breast Cancer Patient's Data," 2022 56th Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems (CISS), 2022, pp. 19-24, doi: 10.1109/CISS53076.2022.9751183.
[14] A. N, A. V. K and N. R, "Sharing Confidential Images with Abbreviated Shares using Steganography and AES Algorithm," 2022 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Technologies (CONIT), 2022, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/CONIT55038.2022.9847932.
[15] N. Subramanian, O. Elharrouss, S. Al-Maadeed and A. Bouridane, "Image Steganography: A Review of the Recent Advances," in IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 23409-23423, 2021, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3053998.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Nimishkumar Baldha. (2023). A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique. Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing, 11(1), 12-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Nimishkumar Baldha. A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique. Sci. J. Circuits Syst. Signal Process. 2023, 11(1), 12-18. doi: 10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Nimishkumar Baldha. A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique. Sci J Circuits Syst Signal Process. 2023;11(1):12-18. doi: 10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12,
      author = {Nimishkumar Baldha},
      title = {A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique},
      journal = {Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-18},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cssp.20231101.12},
      abstract = {Steganography is the art of hiding secret messages into cover during communication. Steganography is a technique for sending secret messages across ordinary cover carriers in such a way that the presence of the messages is unnoticed. There are various steganographic techniques based on the cover being used in the steganographic process. The covers can be an image, audio, video, and text. The most widely used steganographic technique nowadays is Image Steganography. Image steganography is hiding the existence of the data using the image as the cover object. Most of the image steganographic technique hides the secret messages as plaintext and intruders may try to extract the secret message if he/she knows that the image being communicated is a stego image. In this paper, a web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) image steganographic technique with two layers of AES encryption that does not require a key exchange mechanism between sender and receiver is explained. The proposed method follows six step mechanism on the sender’s side which includes user authentication to initiate communication, two 128-bit key generation and storing it to the central server database, message encryption using one of the generated keys in previous step and image encryption using another key followed by the image steganography. The image generated after sixth step is ready to send via any medium to the receiver. The receiver of the image also follows six steps process to convert the stego image to the decrypted message. After completing the authentication, receiver inputs the received image from the sebder and the system checks for the integrity of the inputted image. Once the integrity is verified, the system pulls the decryption keys from the database. Using this decryption keys, the image decryption and message takes place. The goal of the proposed method is to avoid key exchange mechanism using client/server architecture. The proposed method encrypts the secret message and stego image to add another layer of security.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) Image Steganographic Technique
    AU  - Nimishkumar Baldha
    Y1  - 2023/07/06
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12
    T2  - Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing
    JF  - Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing
    JO  - Science Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing
    SP  - 12
    EP  - 18
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2326-9073
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cssp.20231101.12
    AB  - Steganography is the art of hiding secret messages into cover during communication. Steganography is a technique for sending secret messages across ordinary cover carriers in such a way that the presence of the messages is unnoticed. There are various steganographic techniques based on the cover being used in the steganographic process. The covers can be an image, audio, video, and text. The most widely used steganographic technique nowadays is Image Steganography. Image steganography is hiding the existence of the data using the image as the cover object. Most of the image steganographic technique hides the secret messages as plaintext and intruders may try to extract the secret message if he/she knows that the image being communicated is a stego image. In this paper, a web-based Least Significant Bit (LSB) image steganographic technique with two layers of AES encryption that does not require a key exchange mechanism between sender and receiver is explained. The proposed method follows six step mechanism on the sender’s side which includes user authentication to initiate communication, two 128-bit key generation and storing it to the central server database, message encryption using one of the generated keys in previous step and image encryption using another key followed by the image steganography. The image generated after sixth step is ready to send via any medium to the receiver. The receiver of the image also follows six steps process to convert the stego image to the decrypted message. After completing the authentication, receiver inputs the received image from the sebder and the system checks for the integrity of the inputted image. Once the integrity is verified, the system pulls the decryption keys from the database. Using this decryption keys, the image decryption and message takes place. The goal of the proposed method is to avoid key exchange mechanism using client/server architecture. The proposed method encrypts the secret message and stego image to add another layer of security.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Computer Science, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada

  • Sections