LSB based non blind predictive edge adaptive image steganography

Image steganography is the art of hiding secret message in grayscale or color images. Easy detection of secret message for any state-of-art image steganography can break the stego system. To prevent the breakdown of the stego system data is embedded in the selected area of an image which reduces the probability of detection. Most of the existing adaptive image steganography techniques achieve low embedding capacity. In this paper a high capacity Predictive Edge Adaptive image steganography technique is proposed where selective area of cover image is predicted using Modified Median Edge Detector (MMED) predictor to embed the binary payload (data). The cover image used to embed the payload is a grayscale image. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme achieves better embedding capacity with minimum level of distortion and higher level of security. The proposed scheme is compared with the existing image steganography schemes. Results show that the proposed scheme achieves better embedding rate with lower level of distortion.     

Reversible steganography based on side match and hit pattern for VQ-compressed images

Data hiding is an important technique in multimedia security. Multimedia data hiding techniques enable message senders to disguise secret data by embedding them into cover media. Thus, delivering secret messages is as easy as sending the cover media. Recently, many researchers have studied reversible data hiding for images. Those methods can reconstruct the original cover image and extract the embedded secret data from a stego-image. This study proposes a novel reversible steganographic method of embedding secret data into a vector quantization (VQ) compressed image by applying the concept of side match. The proposed method uses extra information, namely the hit pattern, to achieve reversibility. Moreover, its small hit pattern enables the embedding of the entire hit pattern along with the secret data in most cases. To optimize visual quality of the output stego-image, the method applies the concept of partitioned codebooks (state codebooks). The partition operation on the codebook uses a look-up table to minimize embedding and extraction time. We also propose the use of diagonal seed blocks to embed the entire hit pattern into the cover image without producing any extra control messages. Compared to the Chang and Lin method, the experimental results show that the proposed method has higher capacity, better visual quality, and shorter execution time.     

Adaptive lossless steganographic scheme with centralized difference expansion

In this paper, a novel adaptive lossless data hiding scheme is presented that is capable of offering greater embedding capacity than the existing schemes. Unlike the fixed hiding capacity each block provides in most of the currently available lossless data hiding approaches, the proposed method utilizes a block-based lossless data embedding algorithm where the quantity of the hidden information each block bears is variable. To both reduce the image distortion and increase the hiding capacity, the payload of each block depends on its cover image complexity. Due to the fact that schemes with difference expansion tend to damage the image quality seriously in the edge areas, in the proposed scheme, smoother areas are chosen to conceal more secret bits. This way, a better balance can be reached between the embedding ratio and the stego-image quality. In addition, when recovered the cover image can came back to its old self to the last bit without any distortion at all. Experimental results, as this paper will show, have demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of hiding more secret data while maintaining imperceptible stego-image quality degradation.     

A high capacity reversible data hiding scheme with edge prediction and difference expansion

To enhance the embedding capacity of a reversible data hiding system, in this paper, a novel multiple-base lossless scheme based on JPEG-LS pixel value prediction and reversible difference expansion will be presented. The proposed scheme employs a pixel value prediction mechanism to decrease the distortion caused by the hiding of the secret data. In general, the prediction error value tends to be much smaller in smooth areas than in edge areas, and more secret data embedded in smooth areas still meets better stego-image quality. The multiple-base notational system, on the other hand, is applied to increase the payload of the image. With the system, the payload of each pixel, determined by the complexity of its neighboring pixels, can be very different. In addition, the cover image processed by the proposed scheme can be fully recovered without any distortion. Experimental results, as shown in this paper, have demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of hiding more secret data while keeping the stego-image quality degradation imperceptible.     

A reversible data hiding scheme based on the Sudoku technique

Data hiding, also known as information hiding, plays an important role in information security for various purposes. Reversible data hiding is a technique that allows distortion-free recovery of both the cover image and the secret information. In this paper, we propose a new, reversible data hiding scheme that is based on the Sudoku technique and can achieve higher embedding capacity. The proposed scheme allows embedding more secret bits into a pair of pixels while guaranteeing the good quality of the stego-image. The experimental results showed that the proposed scheme obtained higher embedding capacity than some other previous schemes. In addition, our proposed scheme maintained the good visual quality of the stego-image (i.e., PSNR > 46 dB), which outperforms some existing schemes.     

利用模运算及其周期性特点的安全隐写算法

为了提供较大的可调信息嵌入量和保持载密图像良好的视觉质量,提出一种基于模运算及其周期性特点的安全隐写算法。首先将秘密信息流转为n进制信息流表示,然后根据余数循环的特点,应用具有安全特性的模函数将一位n进制信息嵌入载体图像的一个像素中,直至信息嵌入完毕。选择不同的参数n可以得到不同的嵌入率和载密图像视觉质量。理论分析和实验结果表明,本文算法在保持高嵌入率的同时仍保持较好的载密图像视觉质量,且安全性好;其信息嵌入率选择具有高度弹性,可以根据实际要求选择在嵌入率和载密图像质量都很理想的隐写方案。与同类算法相比具有更强的实用性。     

基于码分多址复用的双重加密可逆信息隐藏

针对多数密文域可逆信息隐藏算法嵌入容量小、加密算法单一的问题,提出一种双重加密的方法,并利用码分多址复用（CDMA）的思想嵌入秘密信息。加密时将图像分块,先对像素块进行多粒度置乱加密,再对块中每个像素的中间2位用流密码加密。信息嵌入采用码分多址的思想,选取k个长为4的相互正交的矩阵嵌入k层秘密信息,利用矩阵的正交性实现秘密信息多层嵌入,在提高嵌入容量的同时保证了对像素点的较小改变。对不满足嵌入条件的像素块嵌入伪比特,可避免使用位置图。拥有信息提取密钥的合法接收者可以提取秘密信息;拥有图像解密密钥可以近似恢复原始图像;拥有两种密钥既可提取秘密信息又可无损恢复原始图像。实验结果表明,512×512灰度图像Lena在峰值信噪比（PSNR）大于36 dB时最大嵌入容量133 313 bit。所提算法增强了加密图像安全性,在保证可逆性的同时大大提高密文域可逆信息隐藏嵌入容量。     

Adaptive data hiding for vector quantization images based on overlapping codeword clustering

In this paper, an overlapping codeword clustering based data hiding scheme is presented. In this scheme, a mapping table is designed to determine the overlapping codeword clustering and to indicate the index modification in the secret embedding. The mapping table explores the relationship among the sub-codebook’s size, the codeword’s order and the embedding secret message to which the codeword overlapping in sub-codebooks with different sizes is permitted. In addition, the secret embedding is also determined according to the mapping table.The experimental results showed that the number of partitioned sub-codebooks was increased significantly. The average hiding capacity was about 30 K bits while the average embedding distortion was about 1.2 dB. In comparison to similar methods, the proposed scheme provided a larger hiding capacity than others while preserving a similar stego-image quality. Furthermore, the proposed scheme offered a better proportion of hiding compared to image distortion.     

基于块参照像素的无损信息隐藏算法

提出一种具有高嵌入容量的图像无损信息隐藏算法。首先将载体图像分成互不重叠的子块,然后在每块中选定一个参照像素,并计算参照像素与块内其它像素的差。在像素差直方图移位产生冗余空间之后,机密信息就可以无损地嵌入到这些冗余空间中。该方法在机密信息提取后可完全恢复载体图像,而且提取机密信息和恢复载体图像不需要除机密信息长度之外的任何信息。实验结果表明了该算法的有效性。     

A novel data hiding scheme based on modulus function

Four criteria are generally used to evaluate the performance of data hiding scheme: the embedding capacity, the visual quality of the stego-image, the security, and the complexity of the data-embedding algorithm. However, data hiding schemes seldom take all these factors into consideration. This paper proposes a novel data hiding scheme that uses a simple modulus function to address all the performance criteria listed above. According to the input secret keys, the encoder and decoder use the same set-generation functions H_r() and H_c() to first generate two sets Kr and Kc. A variant Cartesian product is then created using Kr and Kc. Each cover pixel then forms a pixel group with its neighboring pixels by exploiting an efficient modulus function; the secret data are then embedded or extracted via a mapping process between the variant of the Cartesian product and each pixel group. The proposed scheme offers several advantages, namely (1) the embedding capacity can be scaled, (2) a good visual quality of the stego-image can be achieved, (3) the computational cost of embedding or extracting the secret data is low and requires little memory space, (4) secret keys are used to protect the secret data and (5) the problem of overflow or underflow does not occur, regardless of the nature of the cover pixels.We tested the performance of the proposed scheme by comparing it with Mielikainen’s and Zhang and Wang’s schemes for gray-scale images. The experimental results showed that our proposed scheme outperforms Mielikainen’s in three respects, namely scalable embedding capacity, embedding rate, and level of security. Our data hiding scheme also achieved a higher embedding capacity than Zhang and Wang’s. The proposed scheme can easily be applied to both gray-scale and color images. Analyses of its performance showed that our proposed scheme outperforms Tsai and Wang’s in terms of its time complexity and memory space requirement.     

利用像素置换的自适应可逆信息隐藏

目的 像素置换作为一种可逆信息隐藏方式具有良好的抗灰度直方图隐写分析能力,但嵌入容量偏小一直是其缺陷。针对这一问题,提出了一种基于像素置换的自适应可逆信息隐藏算法。方法 首先,与传统2×2像素块结构相比构造了尺寸更小的像素对结构,使得载体图像可以被更稠密地分割,为嵌入容量的提升提供了基数条件。其次,提出适用于该新像素结构的可嵌像素对（EPP）筛选条件,避免嵌入过程引起图像质量大幅下降。之后,根据EPP的灰度趋势差异对其进行自适应预编码,提高Huffman编码压缩比,进一步提升算法嵌入容量。最终,通过像素置换嵌入信息。结果 与2×2像素块结构的非自适应图像隐写算法相比,在同样保证灰度直方图稳定性的情况下该算法的PSNR提高了32%左右,嵌入容量提高了95%以上。其中自适应性对嵌入容量提升的贡献极大。结论 本文算法同时具有抗灰度直方图隐写分析能力与高嵌入容量性的可逆信息隐藏。算法构造了更高效的可嵌单位,并且针对不同载体图像的特点对其可嵌区域进行差异化编码。实验结果表明,本文算法在具有更好的不可见性的同时,嵌入容量得到大幅提升。     

A high payload steganographic algorithm based on edge detection

The least-significant-bit (LSB) technique is one of the commonly used steganographic algorithms in the spatial domain. In most existing schemes, they didn’t carefully analyze the relationship between the image content itself. Hence, the smooth areas in the cover image will inevitably be contaminated after hiding even at a low embedding rate, thereby leading to poor visual quality and low security. In recent years, diverse steganography methods using edge detection have been proposed. However, their schemes employ certain pixels in the cover image for the sake of storing edge information, resulting in significant embedding distortion and low payload. In this study, a novel steganography approach based on the combination of LSB substitution mechanism and edge detection is proposed. To avoid the excavation of human visual system (HVS) when more secret bits are embedded into pixels, we classify the cover pixels into edge areas and non-edge areas. Then, pixels that belong to the edge area are used to carry more secret bits. In addition, to further increase the payload as well as preserve good image quality, we adopt a skillful way that the edge information is determined by most significant bits (MSBs) of the cover image so that it does not need to be stored. In the extraction phase, the same edge information is obtained. Therefore, the secret data can be correctly extracted without confusion. The experimental results demonstrate that our scheme achieves a much higher payload and better visual quality than those of state-of-the-art schemes.     

A high payload frequency-based reversible image hiding method

To provide both a high payload capacity and a good stego-image quality, a high payload frequency-based reversible image hiding (HPFRIH) method was presented in this paper. These performances can be achieved by transforming a cover image from the spatial domain into the frequency domain through Haar digital wavelet transform (HDWT) method followed by an adaptive arithmetic coding method to encode the HDWT coefficients in a high-frequency band. The HPFRIH method was used to conceal both the compressed data and the secret data in the high-frequency band. This simple method can completely reconstruct the cover image only from the stego-image. Moreover, experimental results showed that the HPFRIH method offers both impressive hiding capacity and satisfied stego-image quality.     

High-capacity image hiding scheme based on vector quantization

A novel grayscale image hiding scheme that is capable of hiding multiple secret images into a host image of the same size is proposed in this paper. The secret images to be hidden are first compressed by vector quantization with additional index compression process. Then, the compressed secret images are encrypted and embedded into the least-significant bits of the host pixels. To provide good image quality of the stego-image, the modulus function and the image property are employed to hide the secret bits into the host pixels and determine the number of hidden bits in each host pixel, respectively. According to the results, the proposed scheme provides a higher hiding capacity and a higher degree of security than that of the virtual image cryptosystem.     

Reversible data hiding in compressed and encrypted images by using Kd-tree

In this paper, a joint scheme and a separable scheme for reversible data hiding (RDH) in compressed and encrypted images by reserving room through Kd-tree were proposed. Firstly, the plain cover image was losslessly compressed and encrypted with lifting based integer wavelet transform (IWT) and set partition in hierarchical tree (SPIHT) encoding. Then, several shift operations were performed on the generated SPIHT bit-stream. The shifted bit-stream was restructured into small chunks and packed in the form of a large square matrix. The binary square matrix was exposed to Kd-tree with random permutations and reserving uniform areas of ones and zeros for secret data hiding. After that, a joint or a separable RDH scheme can be performed in these reserved spaces. In the joint RDH scheme, the secret data were embedded in the reserved spaces before encrypting with multiple chaotic maps. Thus, secret data extraction and cover image recovery were achieved together. In the separable RDH scheme, the secret data were embedded in the reserved spaces after encrypting with multiple chaotic maps. Since message extraction and cover image recovery are performed separately, anyone who has the embedding key can extract the secret message from the marked encrypted copy, while cannot recover the cover image. A complete encoding and decoding procedure of RDH for compressed and encrypted images was elaborated. The imperceptibility analysis showed that the proposed methods bring no distortion to the cover image because there was no change to the original cover image. The experimental results showed that the proposed schemes can perform better for secret data extraction and can restore the original image with 100% reversibility with much more embedding capacity and security. The proposed schemes significantly outperform the state-of-the-art RDH methods in the literature on compressed and encrypted images.

     

A high quality steganographic method with pixel-value differencing and modulus function

In this paper, we shall propose a new image steganographic technique capable of producing a secret-embedded image that is totally indistinguishable from the original image by the human eye. In addition, our new method avoids the falling-off-boundary problem by using pixel-value differencing and the modulus function. First, we derive a difference value from two consecutive pixels by utilizing the pixel-value differencing technique (PVD). The hiding capacity of the two consecutive pixels depends on the difference value. In other words, the smoother area is, the less secret data can be hidden; on the contrary, the more edges an area has, the more secret data can be embedded. This way, the stego-image quality degradation is more imperceptible to the human eye. Second, the remainder of the two consecutive pixels can be computed by using the modulus operation, and then secret data can be embedded into the two pixels by modifying their remainder. In our scheme, there is an optimal approach to alter the remainder so as to greatly reduce the image distortion caused by the hiding of the secret data. The values of the two consecutive pixels are scarcely changed after the embedding of the secret message by the proposed optimal alteration algorithm. Experimental results have also demonstrated that the proposed scheme is secure against the RS detection attack.     

Color local complexity estimation based steganographic (CLCES) method

In this paper we present the color local complexity estimation based steganographic (CLCES) method that is able of both preventing visual degradation and providing a large embedding capacity. A preprocessing stage is applied in the proposed scheme to improve the steganography security. The embedding capacity of each pixel is determined by the local complexity of the cover image, allowing good visual quality as well as embedding a large amount of secret messages. We classify the pixels using a threshold based on the standard deviation of the local complexity in the cover image to provide a compromise between the embedding capacity and the image visual quality. The experimental results demonstrated that the algorithm CLCES proposed produces insignificant visual distortion due to the hidden message. It provides a high embedding capacity that is superior respect to the offered by the existing schemes. The proposed method is a secure steganographic algorithm; it can resist the image quality measures (IQM) steganalysis attack. The RGB, YCbCr, and HSV color spaces are incorporated in the proposed scheme to ensure that the difference between the cover image and the stego-image which is indistinguishable by the human visual system (HVS). Finally, the proposed scheme is simple, efficient, and feasible for the adaptive steganographic applications.     

Separable reversible data hiding in encrypted images based on scalable blocks

This paper proposes a new separable reversible data hiding method for encrypted images. Proposed scheme employs the pixel redundancy of natural images to construct embedding space. First, cover image is divided into multiple blocks with different scales. According to the pixel average value of each block, the lowest two bits of every pixel are vacated as reserved rooms. Subsequently, the whole image is encrypted by using stream cipher and the secret messages are finally embedded into the reserved rooms by the embedding key. Proposed scheme is separable in the sense that the recipient can achieve different function by the following ways: (a) If the recipient has only decryption key, an approximation plaintext image containing the embedded information can be obtained. (b) If the recipient has only embedded key, secret messages can be extracted correctly. (c) If the recipient has both decryption key and embedded key, he can not only extract the secret messages, but recover the original cover image perfectly. Extensive experiments are performed to show that our proposed schemes outperform existing reversible data hiding schemes in terms of visual quality, embedding capacity and security performance, even if a large-scale image database is used.

     

Reversible data hiding for high quality images exploiting interpolation and direction order mechanism

Reversible data hiding can restore the original image from the stego image without any distortion after the embedded secret message is exactly extracted. In this paper, a novel, reversible, data hiding scheme for high quality images is proposed in spatial domain. To increase embedding capacity and enhance image quality, the proposed scheme classifies all pixels as wall pixels and non-wall pixels. For wall pixel, the interpolation error is used to embed secret data over the interpolation prediction method. In contrast, the difference value between the non-wall pixel and its parent pixel, which is defined by the direction order, is computed to hide secret data based on the histogram shifting. The experimental results demonstrate that our scheme provides a larger payload and a better image quality than some existing schemes. Moreover, the performance of the proposed scheme is more stable for different images.     

High-capacity reversible data hiding in binary images using pattern substitution

Data hiding, as the term itself suggests, means the hiding of secret data in a cover image. The result is a so-called stego-image. Reversible data hiding is technique, where not only the secret data can be extracted from the stego-image, but the cover image can be completely rebuilt after the extraction of secret data. Therefore, reversible data hiding is the choice in cases of secret data hiding, where the recovery of the cover image is required. In this paper, we propose a high-capacity reversible data hiding scheme based on pattern substitution. Our scheme gathers statistical data concerning the occurrence frequencies of various patterns and quantifies the occurrence frequency as it differs from pattern to pattern. In this way, some pattern exchange relationships can be established, and pattern substitution can thus be used for data hiding. In the extraction stage, we reverse these patterns to their original forms and rebuild an undistorted cover image. Our experimental results demonstrate the practicability of the proposed method. In fact, our new scheme gives a better performance than pair-wise logical computation (PWLC) in terms of both hiding capacity and stego-image visual quality.