Application of Delaunay Triangulation and Catalan Objects in Steganography

Faruk Selimović,Predrag Stanimirović,Muzafer Saračević,Predrag Krtolica

doi:10.3390/math9111172

Faruk Selimović, Predrag Stanimirović + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/math9111172

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Journal: Mathematics	Publication Date: May 22, 2021
Citations: 6	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Nis, Univerzitet u Novom Pazaru

Abstract

This paper presents a new method of steganography based on a combination of Catalan objects and Voronoi–Delaunay triangulation. Two segments are described within the proposed method. The first segment describes the process of embedding data and generating a complex stego key. The second segment explains the extraction of a hidden message. The main goal of this paper is to transfer a message via the Internet (or some other medium) using an image so that the image remains absolutely unchanged. In this way, we prevented the potential attacker from noticing some secret message hidden in that picture. Additionally, the complex stego key consists of three completely different parts (the image, the encrypted Delaunay triangulation, and the array Rk in Base64 code), which are very difficult to relate with each other. Finally, a few security analyses of the proposed method are conducted, as well as the corresponding steganalysis.

Highlights

When we talk about protecting the privacy of data in an image—that is, hiding a message within an image—we can say that this is a new challenge in cyberspace
In the case of an attack, it cannot be detected whether only one or more bases were used in the database generation, so the bit positions in the message carrier cannot be determined with certainty
The main benefits of this method are the use of an image to hide a secret message while keeping it in its original form

Summary

Introduction

When we talk about protecting the privacy of data in an image—that is, hiding a message within an image—we can say that this is a new challenge in cyberspace. The image as a carrier of a secret message and its design, encryption schemes, creation of algorithms, and methods have attracted the attention of many researchers. In [1], the authors mentioned many techniques used in image encryption which attackers encounter. Some of these techniques are Fridrich image encryption schemes, frameless diffusion, and so on. In contrast to the mentioned techniques, the proposed technique is based on a combination of Delaunay’s triangulation of the binary record of an image, Catalan objects (as the mixing key), and stack permutation as the encryption method. The basic question is this: how can an attacker get a secret message even if, in some cases, he manages to connect the parts in the stego key?

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