Evaluation of steganographic cost for covert communication in IP networks

Abstract

Network steganography encompasses the information hiding techniques that can be applied in communication network environments and that utilize hidden data carriers for this purpose. When describing a network steganography method despite the features like steganographic bandwidth, undetectability and robustness also steganographic cost should be considered. It is used as an indicator for the degradation or distortion of the carrier caused by the application of the steganographic method. In this master thesis we are going to evaluate how steganographic cost is affected in two different scenarios when using different steganographic methods, either separated or combined. We want to check the existence of two phenomena that can take place when combining two or more steganographic methods: superposition steganography and zero cost steganography.