Arnav Joshipura
Independent Researcher
India
Abstract
Image steganography is the art and science of concealing information within digital images so that the very existence of the message remains hidden. Among the many techniques proposed prior to 2018, hybrid approaches combining frequency-domain transforms such as the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) with spatial-domain methods like Least Significant Bit (LSB) substitution have shown promising trade-offs between imperceptibility, payload capacity, and robustness against steganalysis. This manuscript presents a comprehensive study on the fusion of DCT-based embedding and LSB substitution for hiding binary data within JPEG images. We begin with an overview of relevant techniques up to 2018, followed by detailed case studies applying these methods to standard test images. Next, we describe the methodology for embedding and extracting payloads, including block-based DCT coefficient modification and subsequent bit masking in spatial pixels. Experimental results assess imperceptibility via peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM), payload capacity, and resistance to common steganalysis attacks. Finally, we discuss conclusions and recommendations for optimizing hybrid steganographic schemes in engineering applications aligned with technologies available through 2018.
Keywords
Image steganography, Discrete Cosine Transform, LSB substitution, JPEG, imperceptibility, payload capacity, PSNR, SSIM
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