Secret data communication system using steganography, AES and RSA

The paper introduces a new secret data communication system that employs the usage of two state-of-the art cryptographic algorithms (RSA with asymmetric keys and AES with symmetric key) together with steganography. The joining of these three techniques builds a robust steganography-based communication system capable of withstanding multiple types of attacks, detection and reverse engineering. Our system was designed in a way that offers a solution to the major flaws presented in other steganographic communication systems [2][4][5][6]. The secret data is encrypted using AES with a strong key prior to being embedded using a steganographic algorithm [1]. The key used for the data encryption uses a combination between a random generated sequence and a hash of the cover image's color information that remains untouched throughout the entire embedding process. The secret data and the key used for encryption both pass multiple levels of security checks that assure the integrity, authenticity and security, making this a reliable communication channel for sensitive data. While all encryption stages assure that the secret data becomes obsolete without the proper decryption perquisites (keys), the steganographic algorithm introduces an additional level of security: stealth.