Steganography Technique Inspired by Rook

To enhance the payload of secret data a scheme on the basis of least significant bit (LSB) substitution cascaded with pixel value differencing (PVD) has been proposed in this paper. Firstly secret bits are embedded using PVD method where smooth areas obtain small number of bits and higher bits in the edged area. Then bits are also embedded in the same pixel block by applying LSB replacement method as a cascading manner. The technique ensures more hiding capacity along with security as two methods are applied as cascaded manner on the same pixel block. Experimental result shows that proposed method can hide nearly double amount of secret data, compared to PVD method with good visual quality of stego-images.

Generative image steganography is a key technology for secure information transmission, but existing deep learning-based generative steganographic methods suffer from an extremely high bit error rate (BER) and degraded steganographic image quality in low-bit-rate embedding tasks in which secret information needs duplication or padding to match the model input size. In addition, it is difficult to balance BER reduction and imperceptibility of stego-images. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel generative image steganography algorithm based on flip watermarking, with the core novelty of designing a mirror flipping preprocessing mechanism to achieve a redundant watermark and eliminate information errors caused by duplication or padding, and constructing an end-to-end Mini-Hide steganographic framework to integrate flip watermarking with generative steganography for the first time. Specifically, the proposed method first converts the binary bitstream of secret information into a square matrix, and performs vertical, horizontal and vertical–horizontal mirror flipping on the matrix to form a redundant basic watermark, which is then expanded to a secret image with the same size as the cover image. After that, the secret image is preprocessed by a preparation network and then input into an encoding network together with the cover image to generate a stego-image. Finally, the generated stego-image is input into the decoding network to extract the secret image. Subsequently, the inverse operation of flip watermarking is performed on the extracted secret image to recover the original binary bitstream. Extensive experiments are conducted on the public COCO dataset (256×256 pixels) with BER, PSNR, and SSIM, and the proposed method is compared with state-of-the-art generative steganographic methods. Quantitative results show that the proposed method achieves a 0% BER for secret information of 8×8 to 64×64 bits, and the BER is only 0.00002% for 256×256-bit secret information; the PSNR of stego-images reaches 37.75 dB, and the SSIM hits 0.96, which are 7.07 dB and 0.02 higher than those of the classic HiDDeN method (64×64 bit) respectively. We also validated the flip watermark module by integrating into other methods; the results also show that the PSNR of FNNS-D is improved by 13.12 dB (256×256), and the BER of SteganoGAN is reduced by 99.99% (256×256 bit). In addition, the proposed method breaks the embedding size limit of HiDDeN (≤64×64 bit) and supports up to 256×256-bit secret information embedding with stable performance. This work significantly reduces the BER of generative image steganography while improving the visual quality of stego-images, provides a new preprocessing and optimization scheme for low-BER generative steganographic algorithm design, and also offers a universal lightweight module for performance improvement of existing steganographic methods, which has important theoretical and practical significance for enhancing the security and reliability of covert information transmission in the field of information security.

JPEG is a common image format in the WWW and can potentially be used to hide data for secure internet communication and watermark for copyright control. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to embed the secret or watermark information. The proposed algorithm, named Watermarking by DC Coefficients Modification (WDCM), assumes that the quality factor used in JPEG compression is known. We observe that it is perceptually undetectable if the DC coefficients in certain texture-rich blocks are modified by a small amount. We thus embed the secret information as a binary bit sequence in the quantized DC coefficients in those texture rich blocks. The watermark embedding process can be applied in compression domain without re-encode the data. The information bits are randomized by some pseudo-random noise (PN) sequences, the keys of which are needed for the decoding of the secret information. By embedding the information in the DC components, the proposed algorithm is robust to common JPEG compression if the quality factor is known.

Network-on-Chip (NoC) links consume a significant fraction of the total NoC power. We present Selective Packet Interleaving (SPI), a flit transmission scheme that reduces power consumption in NoC links. SPI decreases the number of bit transitions in the links by exploiting the multiplicity of virtual channels in a NoC router. SPI multiplexes flits to the router's output link so as to minimize the number of bit transitions from the previously transmitted flit. Analysis and simulations demonstrate a reduction of up to 55% in the number of bit transitions and up to 40% savings in power consumed on the link. SPI benefits grow with the number of virtual channels. SPI works better for links with a small number of bits in parallel. While SPI compares favorably against bus inversion, combining both schemes helps to further reduce bit transitions.

Capacity is one of the importance factors in the hiding techniques. The challenge facing of the concealment techniques is the inverse relationship between the capacity and quality of stego-image. The Least-Significant-Bit (LSB)-based approach is a popular hiding technique in the spatial domain. Number of methods was proposed to enhance the performance of LSB method. However, the capacity of most hiding approaches especially in spatial domain was little and not enough to hide image in image with same size and type. New disguise algorithm based on decomposition and LSB is proposed in this paper. Distorted image as cover image used in this paper to decrease the effect of increase the capacity. Secret image decomposed by binary bit planes and hide 5 bit most significant bit planes from 8. Bit planes are change in order to avoid the appearance of the scene of secret image in stego-image ordering. Experimental results show that the capacity of proposed method is perfect with high quality of recovered image and strong against statistical analysis.

Exhaustive self-testing of combinational circuitry within the framework of the level-sensitive scan design (LSSD) discipline requires that every output node depend on a small number of input nodes. We present here efficient algorithms that take an arbitrary block of combinational logic and add to it the smallest number of bits of new LSSD registers necessary to: (1) partition the logic so that no output depends on more thank inputs, and (2) maintain timing within the block (so that all input-to-output paths encounter the same number of bits of register). Our partitioning algorithms conform to two different design constraints. We also show that the unconstrained partitioning problem is NP-complete.

This paper introduces a best approach for Least Significant Bit (LSB) based on image steganography that enhances the existing LSB substitution techniques to improve the security level of hidden information. It is a new approach to substitute LSB of RGB true color image. The new security conception hides secret information within the LSB of image where a secret key encrypts the hidden information to protect it from unauthorized users. In general, in LSB methods, hidden information is stored into a specific position of LSB of image. For this reason, knowing the retrieval methods, anyone can extract the hidden information. In our paper, hidden information is stored into different position of LSB of image depending on the secret key. As a result, it is difficult to extract the hidden information knowing the retrieval methods. We have used the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) to measure the quality of the stego images. The value of PSNR gives better result because our proposed method changes very small number of bits of the image. The obtained results show that the proposed method results in LSB based image steganography using secret key which provides good security issue and PSNR value than general LSB based image steganography methods.

A two-step deterministic secure quantum communication (DSQC) scheme using blocks of three-qubit W state is proposed. In this scheme, the secret messages can be encoded by employing four two-particle unitary operations and directly decoded by utilizing the corresponding measurements in Bell basis or single-particle basis. Comparing with most previous DSQC protocols, the present scheme has a high total efficiency, which comes up to 50%. Apart from this, it has still the advantages of high capacity as each W state can carry two bits of secret information, and high intrinsic efficiency because almost all the instances are useful. Furthermore, the security of this communication can be ensured by the decoy particle checking technique and the two-step transmitting idea.

We propose a new protocol for deterministic secure quantum communication with a four-qubit W state. In this protocol, by using four local two-particle unitary operations and Bell basis measurements, the two legitimate users can directly transmit secret messages after exchanging some additional classical information. It will be shown that our protocol has a high capacity as each W state can carry two bits of secret information, and has a high intrinsic efficiency because almost all the instances are useful. Furthermore, this protocol is feasible with present day techniques.

Reversible data hiding means embedding a secret message in a cover image in such a manner, to the point that in the midst of extraction of the secret message, the cover image and, furthermore, the secret message are recovered with no error. The goal of by far most of the reversible data hiding algorithms is to have improved the embedding rate and enhanced visual quality of stego image. An improved encrypted-domain-based reversible data hiding algorithm to embed two binary bits in each gray pixel of original cover image with minimum distortion of stego-pixels is employed in this paper. Highlights of the proposed algorithm are minimum distortion of pixel’s value, elimination of underflow and overflow problem, and equivalence of stego image and cover image with a PSNR of ∞ (for Lena, Goldhill, and Barbara image). The experimental outcomes reveal that in terms of average PSNR and embedding rate, for natural images, the proposed algorithm performed better than other conventional ones.

Based on digitized TV frames a computer simulation study was conducted on a motion -adaptive TV data compression scheme, defined as one in which a 2- dimensional transformapplied to subblocks is followed by the transmission to the receiving site of only changedsubblocks. Performance was measured both by calculation of Normalized Mean Square Errorand by subjective viewing of reconstructed frames. Two systems designs leading to 512x512resolution operation (one based on the Hadamard and one on the Discrete Cosine Transform)were prepared.IntroductionThe motion -adaptive TV data compression described herein is more effective than conven-tional intraframe techniques because it encompasses them and furthermore takes advantageof the correlation between frames by updating only those subblocks which have changed.Following a 2 -D transform performed on small (e.g. 8x8) subblocks, intraframe compressionis achieved by assigning a small number of bits (or none) to each transform coefficient.This bit allocation is made adaptive by assigning fewer bits to those subblocks within aframe which exhibit less busyness or activity. Next, motion -adaptivity, a form of inter -frame compression, is provided by having the amount of change in coefficients between thecurrent subblock and the corresponding subblock of the previous frame determine which trans-form subblocks to transmit. This process has been simulated and an approach to hardwareimplementation derived.BackgroundTwo -dimensional transforms combined with frame to frame motion -adaptivity achieve highcompression ratios because they exploit pixel correlation in all three dimensions.

The defining characteristic of a networked control system (NCS) is having a feedback loop that passes through a local area computer network. This paper considers nonlinear systems controlled in this manner, and demonstrates that for sufficiently high transmission rates, the network may be considered transparent. Three methods of scheduling data packets are compared: a static scheduler (token ring), the try-once-discard (maximum-error-first) scheduler with continuous priority levels, and the try-once-discard scheduler with discrete priority levels. The third method is of particular interest when only a small number of bits are available for collision resolution. Asymptotic stability is guaranteed in the first two cases, and ultimate uniform boundedness in the third. In the final section, simulations demonstrate the theoretical results. The contributions of this paper are two-fold: first, it extends the earlier results on NCS to nonlinear systems, and second, it allows for finite word-length message identifiers.

Halftoning is a process that deliberately injects noise into the original image in order to obtain visually pleasing output images with a smaller number of bits per pixel for displaying or printing purposes. In this paper, a novel inverse halftoning method is proposed to restore a continuous tone image from the given halftone image. A set theoretic formulation is used where three sets are defined using the prior information about the problem. A new space domain projection is introduced assuming the halftoning is performed with error diffusion, and the error diffusion filter kernel is known. The space domain, frequency domain, and space-scale domain projections are used alternately to obtain a feasible solution for the inverse halftoning problem which does not have a unique solution.

This paper presents an efficient method to block unknowns for temporal compactors. The proposed blocking logic can reduce data volume required to control the blocking logic and increase the number of scan cells that are observed by temporal compactors. Control patterns, which specify values required at the control signals of the blocking logic, are compressed by linear feedback shift register reseeding. In this paper, the blocking logic gates for some scan chains that do not capture unknowns are bypassed. Since all scan cells in these scan chains can be observed without specifying the corresponding bits in control patterns, more scan cells are observed while a smaller number of bits are required to be specified. The seed size is further reduced by reducing the numbers of specified bits in the densely specified control patterns. The proposed method can always achieve the same fault coverage that can be achieved by directly observing scan chains without any output compaction. Experiments with large industrial designs clearly demonstrate that the proposed method is scalable to large circuits. Hardware overhead for the proposed unknown blocking scheme is very low.

We propose an AVF-driven parity selection method for protecting modern microprocessor in-core memory arrays against MBUs. As MBUs constitute more than 50% of the upsets in latest technologies, error correcting codes or physical interleaving are typically employed to effectively protect out-of-core memory structures, such as caches. However, such methods are not applicable to high-performance in-core arrays, due to computational complexity, high delay and area overhead. To this end, we revisit parity as an effective mechanism to detect errors and we resort to pipeline flushing and checkpointing for correction. We demonstrate that optimal parity tree construction for MBU detection is a computationally complex problem, which we then formulate as an integer-linear-program (ILP). Experimental results on Alpha 21264 and Intel P6 in-core memory arrays demonstrate that optimal parity tree selection can achieve great vulnerability reduction, even when a small number of bits are added to the parity trees, compared to simple heuristics. Furthermore, the ILP formulation allows us to find better solutions by effectively exploring the solution space in the presence of multiple parity trees; results show that the presence of 2 parity trees offers a vulnerability reduction of more than 50% over a single parity tree.