Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions

Conference Track:  Emerging Technologies

Keywords:         Stegenography, Data Security, Data Hiding

Contact Title:    Dr.

Contact First Name: Subbarao

Contact Last Name:  Wunnava

University:       Florida International University

Web:              www.fiu.edu/~eng

Position:         Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Country:          USA

Email:            subbarao@fiu.edu

Fax:              01 (305) 348 3707

Paper Title:

Additional Data Security with Dynamic Steganography  

Richard Zaveleta, Research Associate &  Subbarao V. Wunnava, Professor

Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University

10555 West. Flagler Street, FL 33186

Phone (305) 348 3018; Fax (305) 348 3707;  email:  subbarao@fiu.edu

ABSTRACT

With the explosion of Internet based Electronic Commerce, Inter Governmental Transactions, Tele Medicine and Tele Education, the need for data security has taken the highest priority.  Since September 11, 2001 World Trade Center event, the Homeland Security issues have taken the highest priority among all transactions.  It is extremely important to secure the data transmissions and communications among the various law enforcement and emergency management organizations.  Equally important are the data security issues related to individuals in the areas of medical and financial activities.

While the Internet has given unprecedented advantage for the network based transactions and ease of obtaining any amount of information,  it has also opened up doors for fraud, intrusion, and loss of security.  Conventional encryption schemes such as the DES and RAS with shared key methodologies have been very popular.  However, to add an extra level of security to already encrypted data provides a sound means of protecting the data, and the associated transactions.  Steganography, where actual data can be hidden in a carrier frame,  provides such a measure.  Specifically, digitized data bits which can replace carrier frame bits in a dynamic way, can add an extra dimension of security.  The scheme be such, that the aberration of the carrier frame by means of hiding the data bits should be totally un-noticeable, and the carrier frame should function normal.  For low band width applications such as the transmitting of control or algorithmic schemes, an audio carrier frame can be efficient.  For high bandwidth applications,  using a video carrier can be an alternative [1][2].

In addition, in multi media transactions, the carrier frames can be switched dynamically for implementing the data security through the steganography. In this paper,  The authors present such a  methodology they have developed at the Florida International University,  and discuss their results.  Also, the limits of the data steganography in the audio or the video frames, with out the functional deterioration will be presented. The applications of the dynamic steganography will also be presented [2][3].

REFERENCES

1.      Communications of the ACM:  September 2003      http://www.acm.org/cacm/

2.      Computer Communications Review ,  August – October 2003m  http://www.acm.org/sigcomm/ 

3.      Transactions on Information and System Security,  November 2003 http://www.acm.org/tissec/

Mailing Address:

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Florida International University,

10555 West Flagler Street, Miami

Florida 33174, USA

Phone: 01 (305) 348 2807

Authors:

Richard Zavaleta, Research Associate

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

Richard Zavaleta/Subbarao Wunnava