A Huffman code LSB based image steganography technique using multi-level encryption and achromatic component of an image

Abstract

In the recent couple of years, due to the accelerated popularity of the internet, various organizations such as government offices, military, private companies, etc. use different transferring methods for exchanging their information. The Internet has various benefits and some demerits, but the primary bad mark is security of information transmission over an unreliable network, and widely uses of images. So, Steganography is the state of the art of implanting a message in the cover objects, that nobody can suspect or identify it. Therefore, in the field of cover steganography, it is very critical to track down a mechanism for concealing data by utilizing different blends of compression strategies. Amplifying the payload limit, and robustness, and working on the visual quality are the vital factors of this research to make a reliable mechanism. Different cover steganography research strategies have been recommended, and each adores its benefits and impediments but there is a need to foster some better cover steganography implements to accomplish dependability between the essential model of cover steganography. To handle these issues, in this paper we proposed a method in view of Huffman code, Least Significant Bits (LSB) based cover steganography utilizing Multi-Level Encryption (MLE) and colorless part (HC-LSBIS-MLE-AC) of the picture. It also used different substitution and flicking concepts, MLE, Magic matrix, and achromatic concepts for proving the proficiency, and significance of the method. The algorithm was also statistically investigated based on some Statistical Assessment Metrics (SAM) such as Mean Square Error (MSE), Peak Signal Noise Ratio (PSNR), Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC), Structural Similarity Index Metric (SSIM), etc. and different perspectives. The observational outcomes show the likelihood of the proposed algorithm and the capacity to give unwavering quality between security, payload, perception, computation, and temper protection.

Optimizing Digital Image Steganography through Hybridization of LSB and Zstandard Compression

“…Various compression methods can be applied to data, and the use of compression to aid data concealment in steganography is common (Ibrahim Almazaydeh et al, 2018;Sethi & Patel, 2019). Moreover, other studies also employ compression techniques in multilevel image steganography (Rahman et al, 2023). Some use the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) compression algorithm to shrink and hide secret messages successfully (AbdelWahab et al, 2019;Jayapandiyan et al, 2020).…”

“…When comparing compression algorithms such as Zstandard with other compression algorithms like Huffman and LZ77, Zstandard can deliver superior performance (Ibrahim Almazaydeh et al, 2018;Rahman et al, 2023;Walker et al, 2023). Compared to Huffman and LZ77, Zstandard exhibits superior compression performance, combining speed and efficiency to achieve smaller file sizes without sacrificing processing speed.…”