Breaking hacker codes and cryptographic systems

¶ … Steganography or "the process of embedding secret information into an innocent-looking carrier" has recently attracted new media attention because of a number of recent hacking attempts. However, the process is an old one which predates computers. "It should not be surprising that the first written report of the use of steganography is attributed to the Greek historian Herodotus. The reported method involved camouflaging a secret message within a hare corpse" (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014). Linguistic steganography also has been popular for many decades, in which a hidden meaning is transmitted through words. "Linguistic steganography may be derived from the aforementioned technique of textual steganography, as it relies on the manipulations on the written (possibly even spoken) language with the aim of tricking the perception of an unaware dupe" (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014).

Attempts to decode steganography attempts have increased in intensity in recent years due to businesses concerns about DRM (Digital Rights Management) and "the alleged utilization of the steganographic methods by terrorists while planning the attacks on U.S. On September 11, 2001" (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014). Steganography is usually transmitted via a third party carrier who is unaware of what he or she is transmitting: the more innocent-appearing and popular the source, the better. However, there are some legitimate uses of the technique, including attempts to circumvent censorship; legitimate attempts to avoid detection via tracing; and also copyright protection (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014).

The most common form of steganography in the modern area remains visually-altered, digital steganography. "Digital image steganography is mostly oriented toward tricking the human visual system into believing the perception of the image has not been manipulated in any way. Similar rules apply to the whole field of digital media steganography, whose primary function is to trick the observer to believe the crafted 'forgery' is indeed genuine. The communication aspect of the whole steganography algorithm is secondary to the process of embedding of the secret data" (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014). However, one notable innovative trend in steganography is its increased sophistication and also the improved use through network-driven technology vs. digital steganography. "Network steganography is on the rise because embedding secret data into digital media files has been found to possess two serious drawbacks: it permits hiding only a limited amount of data per one file and the modified picture may be accessible for forensics experts (for example, because it was uploaded to some kind of server)" (Zieli-ska, Mazurczyk, & Szczypiorski 2014). In contrast, network-level embedding allows for slower leakage of information and is thus more difficult to detect. Also, from a perceptual level, it can be very difficult to detect subtle variations in say, a VoIP call that has hidden, embedded information.