A multiple-format steganography algorithm for color images

Abstract

This paper presents an image Steganography algorithm that can work for cover images of multiple formats. Having a single algorithm for multiple image types provides several advantages. For example, we can apply uniform security policies across all image formats, we can adaptively select the most suitable cover image based on data length, network bandwidth and allowable distortions, etc. We present our algorithm based on the abstract concept of image components that can be adapted for JPEG, Bitmap, TIFF and PNG cover images. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed algorithm is the first Steganography algorithm that can work for multiple cover image formats. In addition, we have utilized concepts like capacity pre-estimation, adaptive partition schemes and data spreading to embed secret data with enhanced security. The proposed method is tested for robustness against Steganalysis with favorable results. Moreover, comparative results for the proposed algorithm are very promising for three different cover image formats.