Hacker 10 – Security Hacker

Tag: steganography AES encryption

  • Hide data inside sound files with DeepSound

    Hide data inside sound files with DeepSound

    DeepSound is a steganography tool to hide any kind of data, from text to photos, inside sound files, for extra security everything can be encrypted using AES256-bit and only available with the correct password, the modified audio file will play as normal and nobody should notice it contains hidden data inside. The program interface is very simple, it comes with a file browser to manually peruse the directory where a suitable carrier sound file can be found, when password protecting the data you will not be asked to confirm the black dot covered password twice, if you make a typo you will not notice it until it is too late, it will be best if you test the file after creating it to make sure everything works as expected.

    Encoding or extracting data can be quickly executed using shortcuts, the program settings allow you to graduate output quality ratio from low to high. If you are going to create an audio CD with hidden data the developer advises to disable volume normalization in the CD burning software to prevent data corruption that would stop hidden files recovery, a one page help manual with screenshots is included, you are not likely to have to read it.

    DeepSound hides data inside audio files
    DeepSound hides data inside audio files

    This tool can only hide data inside Waveform Audio File Format .wav and Free Lossless Audio Codec .flac sound files, these are not very common files, .wav is normally uncompressed, perfect to hide files inside, but the files are very large and not usually used for music, only small sounds.

    FLAC is a royalty free open source alternative to proprietary .mp3, .flac files are compressed and suitable for music albums, supporting metadata and album covert art, if you are going to hide data it will probably look less suspicious inside a .flac than the inadequate .wav file format, and it will be easier to distribute a .flac file given its smaller size. This application could also be used to watermark copyrighted music and track down the source if it is later found leaked in file sharing networks, but converting the file audio format to something else would get rid of the hidden watermark.

    Visit DeepSound homepage

  • Steganography and encryption with StegHide UI

    Steganography and encryption with StegHide UI

    StegHide UI is a GUI interface for Steghide, an open source steganography program to encrypt and hide data inside images (.jpeg, .bmp) and audio files (.wav, .au), it allows users to do everything Stegide can do with a point and click mouse saving you the command line learning curve. There is a tab where you can use this steganography tool in command line mode were you to feel inclined to do so, StegHide UI offers you the best of both worlds, a GUI and command line all in one program.

    There is no need for installation, administrator rights are only needed to change the program settings. You can change the default encryption method, an already secure AES128-bit in CBC mode, set the default output folder or change the command line background colour, font and font colour. The only included help manual consists of the command line tab where you can type “help” and get a list of possible commands. GUI operation is fairly easy, to hide and encrypt files go to the “Embed” tab, select the carrier image or sound where to hide the data and the file you would like to hide, enter a password and choose the encryption algorithm and method using a drop down menu.

    Steganography and encryption StegHide UI
    Steganography and encryption StegHide UI

    To decrypt an steganographic message reverse the process using the “Extract” tab, enter the password and choose the output file with resulting extension, you will need to know what type of file is hidden (.txt, .mp3, .jpg, etc) to get the extension right and be able to view it with the correct program. There is a wide range of encryption algorithms available, the safest are AES Rijndael 128/192/256, Blowfish, TripeDES, Twofish and Serpent, other low strength ciphers like Enigma, Gost, CAST128/256 and Arcfour are included too.

    If you would like to defeat steganalysis, the art of detecting hidden data inside files, make sure to securely erase the original file, comparing two files side by side and looking at their differences it is possible to see that data has been embedded in one of them making the extraction easier for an attacker, but encryption with a strong password should still stop adversaries.

    Visit StegHide UI homepage