On Importance of Steganographic Cost For Network Steganography

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of steganographic cost as a measure of degradation in network steganography, providing a new way to analyze and compare hidden data carriers and methods.

Contribution

It proposes steganographic cost as a novel characteristic for assessing the impact of steganography on network data carriers, analogous to metrics used in digital media.

Findings

Steganographic cost effectively quantifies carrier degradation.

It helps analyze relationships between multiple steganographic methods.

The concept parallels established metrics like MSE and PSNR.

Abstract

Network steganography encompasses the information hiding techniques that can be applied in communication network environments and that utilize hidden data carriers for this purpose. In this paper we introduce a characteristic called steganographic cost which is an indicator for the degradation or distortion of the carrier caused by the application of the steganographic method. Based on exemplary cases for single- and multi-method steganographic cost analyses we observe that it can be an important characteristic that allows to express hidden data carrier degradation - similarly as MSE (Mean-Square Error) or PSNR (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio) are utilized for digital media steganography. Steganographic cost can moreover be helpful to analyse the relationships between two or more steganographic methods applied to the same hidden data carrier.