Steganalysis for DCT inserts with the Koch-Zhao steganographic method in low stego-payload images

Abstract

This study focuses on the problem of detecting and locating secret data embedded using the Koch-Zhao steganographic method with discrete embedding. The proposed method of steganalysis is based on discrete cosine transform and enables to control and verify JPEG and MPEG images of stego-payload not exceeding 25%. Mid-frequency components are considered as the components targeted by the Koch-Zhao steganographic method. The proposed method of steganalysis delivers strong detection and locating accuracy and performs in 10-% stego-payload cases with sufficient reliability. Both gray-scale and color images can be verified on being a carrier or not being when using the detecting method proposed in the study.