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Is This The Ultimate In Data Security?
Updated 3. June 2013 - 23:51 by rob.schifreen
Take a quick look at the screen shot below. It shows a standard image editing program (MS Paint in this case) editing a picture of a car.
Nothing special in that, you probably think. And if you were to take a longer look, you'd still notice nothing out-of-the-ordinary. The picture is a normal image file, which can be edited in Paint or indeed any other program.
But the image file holds a secret. Some of the binary data bits which make up the picture have been modified in order to hold a coded message. The manipulation of the image is not enough to produce any noticeable effects, and you could email or print the image as normal. But to someone that knows of its secret, all they need to do is to load the image into the requisite system, supply the correct password, and the hidden text is revealed.
This form of data encryption, where information is stored in some random bits within an image file, is called steganography. It's a great way to send a confidential message to someone, so long as the message containing the image doesn't contain any clues that there's more to the picture than it may seem.
To try out steganography for yourself, head to www.crypture.it for a free service. Upload an image file of your own (maximum 800x600), or use one of theirs. Specify your secret message and the password, then wait a few seconds to download the modified picture.
To reveal the message from an encoded image, use the decryption facility on the same site. Upload the image and supply the password, and all will be revealed.
The service is free to use, and fun too. The only minor annoyance is that you'll need to solve a Captcha each time you encode or decode a picture.
http://www.crypture.it/Home.html
Updated 3. June 2013 - 23:51 by rob.schifreen
Take a quick look at the screen shot below. It shows a standard image editing program (MS Paint in this case) editing a picture of a car.
Nothing special in that, you probably think. And if you were to take a longer look, you'd still notice nothing out-of-the-ordinary. The picture is a normal image file, which can be edited in Paint or indeed any other program.
But the image file holds a secret. Some of the binary data bits which make up the picture have been modified in order to hold a coded message. The manipulation of the image is not enough to produce any noticeable effects, and you could email or print the image as normal. But to someone that knows of its secret, all they need to do is to load the image into the requisite system, supply the correct password, and the hidden text is revealed.
This form of data encryption, where information is stored in some random bits within an image file, is called steganography. It's a great way to send a confidential message to someone, so long as the message containing the image doesn't contain any clues that there's more to the picture than it may seem.
To try out steganography for yourself, head to www.crypture.it for a free service. Upload an image file of your own (maximum 800x600), or use one of theirs. Specify your secret message and the password, then wait a few seconds to download the modified picture.
To reveal the message from an encoded image, use the decryption facility on the same site. Upload the image and supply the password, and all will be revealed.
The service is free to use, and fun too. The only minor annoyance is that you'll need to solve a Captcha each time you encode or decode a picture.
http://www.crypture.it/Home.html