New Steganography Method of Reversible Data Hiding With Priority to Visual Quality of Image

Abstract

Data hiding is the science of concealing a secret information in a digital image called a cover image or other multimedia files. This allows the transmit of secret data undetected through open communication channels. Target this article is the development of a new reversible method of data hiding with the priority of preserving the visual quality of the stego image at sufficient hiding capacity. The problem is solved in two stages. In the first step the input image is divided into blocks 2×2, within which the smallest pixel is chosen. The difference between the remaining three pixels and the smallest pixel is then calculated. The decimal values of the resulting difference are converted into binaries. The second stage involves the concealing of bits of secret information into calculated binary pixels using the LSB to increase the payload capacity. The results of the experiment confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method, which consists of an acceptable value of data hiding capacity value and in the best visual quality of the stego image.