Steganography is a special encryption technique that is most
often used to embed messages into images. Steganography software slightly
alters the color of the pixels of a photo to form the message. Only the
intended recipient with the same software can uncover the secret message. To
regular human vision, the original image and the altered one are the same. The
change of color is so minute that it is impossible to see.
However,
there are efforts to find ways to detect steganography, especially by the
authorities--terrorists often use steganography to communicate over the
Internet. Major government organizations such as the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National
Security Agency, and a part of the Department of Defense are developing
countermeasures to descramble the messages made via steganography. A study by the University of Michigan in 2001 examined photographs on
eBay with high-tech equipments and programs, but they were unable to ascertain
any traces of steganography on some 2 million photos observed. Thus, this
show the difficulties that governments, not just in the United States but
around the world, have to face to prevent threats posed by steganography technology.
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