Steganographie
Steganography
Verbergen von Informationen in unverdächtigen Trägern
Steganography is the art of hiding information so that even its mere existence remains undetected — for instance by embedding data invisibly in an image, an audio file or a document. Unlike encryption, which makes the content unreadable, steganography hides the message itself. Both techniques can also be combined.
History & facts. Hiding messages is ancient; digitally, steganography exploits the fact that many file formats leave room for small, imperceptible changes — for instance in the least significant bits of image pixels. While encryption makes visible that something is being protected, steganography aims to arouse no suspicion at all. In practice it is misused both for covert communication and for inconspicuous data exfiltration.
Outlook & recommendation. For the defence, steganography is hard to detect because the carriers appear innocuous; statistical analysis (steganalysis) can provide clues but is laborious. Often more valuable in practice is the behavioural level: unusual data volumes or destinations stand out more than the manipulated carrier itself. This again points to the value of network observation against unnoticed data exfiltration.