Embedding Digital Signature into CSV Files Using Data Hiding

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for embedding digital signatures into CSV files by exploiting format redundancies, enhancing data integrity verification for open data without compromising file usability.

Contribution

It presents a new data hiding technique that embeds digital signatures into CSV files, addressing the challenge of ensuring data integrity in plain text formats.

Findings

Successfully embedded a 512-bit signature into real CSV files.

The method exploits redundancy related to double quotes in CSV format.

The approach maintains data usability while providing integrity verification.

Abstract

Open data is an important basis for open science and evidence-based policymaking. Governments of many countries disclose government-related statistics as open data. Some of these data are provided as CSV files. However, since CSV files are plain texts, we cannot ensure the integrity of a downloaded CSV file. A popular way to prove the data's integrity is a digital signature; however, it is difficult to embed a signature into a CSV file. This paper proposes a method for embedding a digital signature into a CSV file using a data hiding technique. The proposed method exploits a redundancy of the CSV format related to the use of double quotes. The experiment revealed we could embed a 512-bit signature into actual open data CSV files.