Imperceptible Steganography Scheme with High Payload Capacity using Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization

Abstract

 Abstract: Security is the most significant parameter in all type of confidential data transfers. Steganography is used to enhance the security of such confidential communications. Steganography is a method of covert communication in which the existence of secrecy is concealed. In image steganography, achieving high data embedding capacity and simultaneously retaining good visual quality is a very tricky and difficult objective. In this paper, a reversible, secure, extremely imperceptible and high payload capacity steganography technique in the spatial domain is proposed. The proposed method employs evolutionary computation techniques to identify the most optimum locations and arrangements for secret data embedding. The proposed technique uses Particle Swarm Optimization to find the best possible order of data hiding whereas Genetic algorithm is used to identify the best possible arrangements to modify secret data to produce least amount of change in cover-image. The result of the proposed scheme is compared with many steganography techniques and the proposed scheme outperforms the existing schemes in terms of imperceptibility. The proposed technique produces an average PSNR value of 46.40 dB at 2 bit per pixel data embedding rate.