Design and implementation of image steganography on android based smartphones

Abstract

Smartphones, be it iOS or Android-based, have revolutionized personal information management. Yet, their susceptibility to security breaches poses privacy risks. To counter this threat and protect sensitive data, a robust security mechanism is imperative. This research targets safeguarding sensitive text stored in Android-based smartphones, employing the Steganography and Cryptography two pillars of Information Security. While Cryptography encrypts data into an indecipherable format, Steganography hides data behind various covers like text, images, audio, or video. Leveraging images as cover objects is pivotal due to their adeptness in concealing confidential data amidst redundant image data, ensuring imperceptibility. Moreover, statistical data indicates the abundant storage of images on smartphones, rendering them inconspicuous covers for sensitive information concealment. This research introduces an Algorithmic Framework aimed at providing the security of sensitive text data stored in Android-based smartphones. It not only introduces novel Image Steganography algorithms for embedding and extraction but also integrates Image Capacity Calculation, Image Selection, and Cryptographic algorithms. The proposed Image Steganography algorithm is rooted in Adaptive Steganography principles, treating each image as a distinct entity and embedding data based on its statistical characteristics. newlineThe Image Capacity Calculation algorithm efficiently determines the embedding capacity of an image before it serves as a cover image. This enhances the Image Selection algorithm, facilitating the selection of plausible cover images based on the amount of data to be concealed. Consequently, the performance of the SaferText Framework outshines conventional Image Steganography algorithms. Following a comprehensive comparative study of cryptographic algorithms supported by Android, this research adopts the AES Algorithm for data encryption and decryption.