steganography – SSL and internet security news

Hiding Information in Silver and Carbon Ink

“We used silver and carbon ink to print an image consisting of small rods that are about a millimeter long and a couple of hundred microns wide,” said Ajay Nahata from the University of Utah, leader of the research team. “We found that changing the fraction of silver and carbon in each rod changes the conductivity in each rod just slightly, but visually, you can’t see this modification. Passing terahertz radiation at the correct frequency and polarization through the array allows extraction of information encoded into the conductivity.”

Research paper.

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infossl December 13, 2016 academicpapers, printers, Security technology, steganography Read more >

WWW Malware Hides in Images

There’s new malware toolkit that uses steganography to hide in images:

For the past two months, a new exploit kit has been serving malicious code hidden in the pixels of banner ads via a malvertising campaign that has been active on several high profile websites.

Discovered by security researchers from ESET, this new exploit kit is named Stegano, from the word steganography, which is a technique of hiding content inside other files.

In this particular scenario, malvertising campaign operators hid malicious code inside PNG images used for banner ads.

The crooks took a PNG image and altered the transparency value of several pixels. They then packed the modified image as an ad, for which they bought ad displays on several high-profile websites.

Since a large number of advertising networks allow advertisers to deliver JavaScript code with their ads, the crooks also included JS code that would parse the image, extract the pixel transparency values, and using a mathematical formula, convert those values into a character.

Slashdot thread.

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infossl December 7, 2016 adware, exploits, malware, Security technology, steganography Read more >

Friday Squid Blogging: More Research Inspired by Squid Skin

Research on color-changing materials:

What do squid and jellyfish skin have in common with human skin? All three have inspired a team of chemists to create materials that change color or texture in response to variations in their surroundings. These materials could be used for encrypting secret messages, creating anti-glare surfaces, or detecting moisture or damage.

They don’t really mean “encrypting”; they mean hiding. But interesting nonetheless.

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infossl September 9, 2016 Security technology, squid, steganography Read more >

Hiding a Morse Code Message in a Pop Song

In Colombia:

The team began experimenting with Morse code using various percussion instruments and a keyboard. They learned that operators skilled in Morse code can often read the signals at a rate of 40 words per minute but played that fast, the beat would sound like a European Dance track. “We discovered the magic number was 20,” says Portela. “You can fit approximately 20 Morse code words into a piece of music the length of a chorus, and it sounds okay.”

[…]

Portela says they played with the Morse code using Reason software, which gives each audio channel or instrument its own dedicated track. With a separate visual lane for certain elements, it was possible to match the code to the beat of the song — and, crucially, blend it in.

Hiding the Morse code took weeks, with constant back-and-forth with Col. Espejo and the military to make sure their men could understand the message. “It was difficult because Morse code is not a musical beat. Sometimes it was too obvious,” says Portela. “Other times the code was not understood. And we had to hide it three times in the song to make sure the message was received.”

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infossl February 2, 2015 colombia, cryptography, kidnapping, music, Security technology, steganography Read more >