Hide Secret Messages in Raster Images for Transmission to Satellites using a 2-D Wavelet Packet

Abstract

     The hiding of information has become of great importance in recent times. With dissemination through the internet, and communication through satellites, information needs to be secure. Therefore, a new algorithm is proposed that enables secret messages to be embedded inside satellite images, wherein images of any size or format can be hidden, using a system’s image compression techniques. This operation is executed in three main steps: first phase – the original image is converted into a raster image; second phase– steganography, in which a binary secret message is hidden inside a raster image, using a 4×4 array as the secret key; and third phase– compression of the stego-image raster in L2 and L3 using a 2-D wavelet packet. The outcome is a highly efficient algorithm, which can rapidly conceal information inside transmitted satellite images, thus guarding against revealing information to potential cyber-attackers.