Enhanced payload volume in the least significant bits image steganography using hash function

Abstract

The art of message masking is called steganography. Steganography keeps communication from being seen by any other person. In the domain of information concealment within images, numerous steganographic techniques exist. Digital photos stand out as prime candidates due to their widespread availability. This study seeks to develop a secure, high-capacity communication system that ensures private interaction while safeguarding information from the broader context. This study used the four least significant bits for steganography to hide the message in a secure way using a hash function. Before steganography, the message is encrypted using one of the encryption techniques: Caesar cipher or Vigenère cipher. By altering only the least significant bits (LSBs), the changes between the original and stego images remain invisible to the human eye. The proposed method excels in secret data capacity, featuring a high peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and low mean square error (MSE). This approach offers significant payload capacity and dual-layer security (encryption and steganography).