Have you ever tried to conceal a message in a simple way but don’t know how?
In this article I will not only tell you what steganography is, but at the end of it, you’ll be able to embed a message, (your Bitcoin wallet? ) in an image.
Steganography is the art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file. Not to be confused with cryptography, which is the process of making a message unreadable by using a given encrypting technique, unless you have the key to how the message was encrypted, then you won’t be able to read it .
Surprising uses of steganography
- The American soldier Jeremiah Denton was forced into a televised press conference, after being captured by the Vietnamese army. Denton repeatedly blinked his eyes in Morse code , spelling out “T-O-R-T-U-R-E”. That confirmed for the first time to American Intelligence organizations that the Vietnamese were torturing American prisoners-of-war.
- In 1968, crew members of the USS Pueblo intelligence ship, held as prisoners by North Korea, communicated in sign language during staged photo opportunities, to inform the United States that they were not defectors but captives of the North Koreans.
- In 1985, Meryl Goldberg a klezmer saxophonist smuggled secrets into and out of the Soviet Union by coding them as pitches of musical notes in sheet music.
In the digital era, this secret sharing of messages became even more sophisticated. For those CSI aficionados you might already know my first example.
Printed
Certain color printers and copiers have embedded a series of yellow dots, also known as secret dots, as a digital watermark which can allows the identification of a specific device origins.
Online challenge
- Cicada 3301, a challenge started in 2012 and that remains unsolved to this day, incorporates steganography with cryptography and other solving techniques . Cicada 3301 is a game containing series of puzzles that were posted in the dark web forum 4chan and on Twitter. Some puzzles were solved but the author still remains a mystery.
- Puzzles involving steganography have also been featured in alternate reality games (ARGs) such as I love bees , The lost experience and Minesweeper among others.
Now, how can you use steganography? If you plan on hiding a message, sharing a password, sending a routing and account number or just safekeeping the answers to your bank security questions, you can do all that by just embedding them in an image or video. Is not a fail-proof method but definitely better than having them on a sticky-note next to your screen.
When talking steganography, think of the secret ink that is only shown to those who know to look for a message to start with. I can use my magic ink to write on a picture to send you my social security number . Only those aware of the presence of a hidden content would try to find the message.
How to hide a message in 3 easy steps:
1- Find an image , I used this one from Unsplash by Clint Patterson , however you can pick any picture you like. (JPEG or PNG)
2- Download and install HxD , (freeware hexadecimal editor) , this is the same software the receiver would have to install to read the message.
3- Open the image using HxD , and type your message at the end of the ‘ Decoded Text’ column ( to the right ). Be advised this will change the size of the image, but it shouldn’t be perceptible to the naked eye.
See at the bottom of the column , ‘password123’ decoded text in red letters
There you go, you’ve hidden the message within an image, now you can try opening it again with your preferred image viewing software and confirm the picture has not visibly changed. Unless someone uses forensics tools to analyze the original in comparison to the one containing a message, it will not be possible to notice any difference with the naked human eye.
For added security when sharing your image, I recommend using anonymous email providers such as Proton Mail. Please share your hidden message sending or receiving experience in the comments 😉
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