hiding in plain sight steganography and the art of covert communication

[...]... Evan, and Mike Continuous thanks to Sid Martin and Ralph Palmieri for understanding the importance of research and for allowing creative minds to think of solutions to complex technical problems There are also my friends like Gary Jackson, Marc Maloof, and the great people at SANS who give constant insight and advice In terms of continuing this research and creating an environment for creative learning,... critical part in secret communication throughout history N OT E If you are ever in Washington, D.C., stop by the newly opened Spy Museum I was amazed as I walked through and saw example after example of stego in action xvii xviii Introduction What’s Covered in This Book Combining the art of steganography with the powers of computers, networks, and the Internet has brought this method of hiding information... forms of secret communication are being used in business, in government, and in war—both overt and covert Because these technologies are often used in concert, in the next chapter you’ll learn about the world of cryptography, its history, and how it’s being used today by a wide variety of groups and individuals CHAPTER 2 Cryptography Explained When it comes to network security, there is no single... circumventing state-sponsored invasion of online privacy and censorship of the Internet The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a more mainstream group at the forefront of protecting individuals’ rights to privacy and information online The EFF supports legislation that requires companies to alert customers buying CDs and other media when copyright protection is built in for example, in the form of digital... hunting around the colonel’s desk, while the computer guy and his partner worked on the two computers in the house After a while he wandered over to see what the computer expert was up to “I’m looking in the lower bits for patterns,” the guy explained “That’s like the last six pixels in an electronic image If there are no peaks and valleys in the data, it suggests there might be hidden images in there.”... it’s kind of in code and we need a key to break it.” Sam could hear the frustration in the guy’s voice: They were so near, but without a key, the hidden information would stay hidden They were just discussing whether the existence of hidden data could be used in court to show some kind of covert activity, when they heard the other computer guy give out a whoop from the next room They both rushed in to... garbled information The meaning of the information in ciphertext is obscured ■ ■ Encryption is the process of taking a plaintext message and converting it into ciphertext N OT E You will often hear people use the words “encryption” and “cryptography” interchangeably, but they actually have slightly different meanings Cryptography or crypto refers to the art of using various encryption and decryption methods... version of the same image Today steganography has come into its own on the Internet Used for transmitting data as well as for hiding trademarks in images and music (called digital watermarking), electronic steganography may ironically be one of the last bastions of information privacy in our world today Where Is It Going? Today software programs used for data hiding are available for free across the Internet... in many legal cases, including his work as an expert witness for the FTC in their case against Microsoft Eric is a sought-after speaker on the topic of steganography and other areas of network security xv Introduction I have always been fascinated by steganography (stego for short), so much so that I am completing my Ph.D in that area of study It is amazing to me to sit back and reflect about how the. .. each other containing pictures of various buildings and notes about architecture Every three to five weeks they will download random text from the Internet, encrypt it, and send it back and forth in a series of messages The encrypted messages will contain nothing of value, but the large number of encrypted messages will catch the CIA’s attention Law enforcement will spend a great deal of time trying . example of stego in action. Introduction xvii What’s Covered in This Book Combining the art of steganography with the powers of computers, networks, and the Internet has brought this method of hiding. Jon, Matt, Marty, Dan, Fred, Evan, and Mike. Continuous thanks to Sid Martin and Ralph Palmieri for understanding the importance of research and for allowing cre- ative minds to think of solutions. Email 44 Using SSH 45 Looking Ahead 50 Chapter 3 Hiding the Goods with Steganography 51 Overview of Steganography 52 The Growth of Steganography 53 Steganography in Use 54 Flaws of Steganography