A Discrete-Time Image Hiding Algorithm Transform Using Wavelet and SHA-512
Santosh Kumar, Savya Sachi, Neetu Neetu, Avnish Kumar, Abhishek Jain, M.S.R. Prasad · 2023
Steganography is an ancient technique used to conceal information within another medium, enhancing security alongside cryptographic methods. This paper's steganography approach revolves around concealing data within the skin region of a cover image converted from RGB to YCbCr colour space. The YCbCr colour model facilitates skin tone detection, employing its components Yellow, Chromatic Blue, and Chromatic Red. The secret information is first encrypted using the SHA-512 algorithm for robust data hiding. Next, a frequency domain approach, specifically the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), is employed for embedding, proving more effective than the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). The key idea is to use an object-oriented steganography mechanism that focuses on tracking skin tone objects within the image, thereby enhancing security. The secret encrypted data is embedded in one of the high-frequency sub-bands of DWT, specifically within skin pixels in that sub-band. This approach demonstrates higher security levels through experimentation while maintaining satisfactory PSNR (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio) values. By adopting this technique, the paper highlights an efficient and secure way to achieve hidden communication without compromising the cover image's visual quality.”