Hidden and Uncontrolled - On the Emergence of Network Steganographic Threats

TL;DR

This paper introduces network steganography, emphasizing its potential misuse by malware and malicious actors, and discusses challenges in detecting and countering such covert communication methods.

Contribution

It provides an overview of network steganography, its malicious applications, and outlines future research challenges in detection and prevention.

Findings

Malware increasingly uses network steganography for covert communication

Network steganography enables data leakage and illicit exchanges

Challenges exist in detecting and countering network steganography

Abstract

Network steganography is the art of hiding secret information within innocent network transmissions. Recent findings indicate that novel malware is increasingly using network steganography. Similarly, other malicious activities can profit from network steganography, such as data leakage or the exchange of pedophile data. This paper provides an introduction to network steganography and highlights its potential application for harmful purposes. We discuss the issues related to countering network steganography in practice and provide an outlook on further research directions and problems.