Examples of Information Hiding Methods for Popular Internet Services

This chapter provides some examples of current information hiding techniques for communication protocols of popular Internet applications and services. The high complexity of many application protocols means there are many opportunities for embedding covert channels, the steganographic bandwidth is often higher than for channels at a lower layer, and channels at application layer can exploit the properties of the whole underlying protocol stack, such as reliable data transport. The chapter shows how data can be hidden in popular P2P services, namely Skype and BitTorrent, and how steganography can be realized for mobile devices, such as smartphones by exploiting services like Siri. It explores information hiding in new network protocols and in Wi-Fi networks. The chapter discusses covert channels in online multiplayer games, specifically first person shooter games. It describes the methods to transfer covert information over online social networks and the exploitation of the Internet of Things for steganographic purposes.