Minimizing Distortion in Secret Image Retrieval: A Novel Solution to Combat Data Loss in Steganography

Steganography, the practice of concealing secret information within innocuous carriers, exploits inherent data redundancies to ensure effective covert communication. However, challenges like lossy compression and data loss can compromise the integrity of the hidden data and complicate accurate recovery. Thus, this paper introduces an new technique in order to retrieve lost data. This approach introduces a novel sender-receiver communication mechanism to extract secret images from steganographic media while compensating for lost portions. The proposed technique enables precise retrieval of confidential images even in scenarios involving significant data loss. Extensive experimental evaluation conducted across diverse steganographic images substantiate the approach’s effectiveness in minimizing distortion during secret image recovery. Notably, the method yields a substantial improvement in the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), attesting to enhanced image quality and likeness to the original covert image. Moreover, the collaborative sender-receiver process bolsters recovery accuracy, curbing data loss and preserving the secret image’s integrity.