Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: This paper proposes a new data hiding method to improve the security for data hiding. Method: This method first maps the cover image into a 1D pixel sequence and then divides it into non-overlapping blocks containing two successive pixels for embedding. It then calculates the difference between the two pixel values for the blocks. It then compares the difference with a reference table. The reference table is referred in every iteration for the comparison of pixel value differences and the range it falls in. This leads to the calculation of the number of bits which can be embedded in that particular block. Findings: The embedded pixels are then modified and their difference is calculated and compared with the range table. If the difference falls in same range, the embedded pixels are used as modified pixels, and if the difference does not fall in the same range, the pixels are modified such that the difference falls in the appropriate range. Extraction of the data is done in the same way to get the covert data. Application/Improvements: Experimental results show that this method enhances embedding rate while preserving the stego image quality.
Keywords: Data Hiding, Embedding Capacity, Imperceptibility, Optimal Pixel Adjustment Process (OPAP), Pixel Value Differencing (PVD), Steganography