WORLDCOMP'10 Tutorial: Prof. Gevorg Margarov

This tutorial is devoted to problems of data hiding on the Internet by means of steganography and detection of steganographic content by means of steganalysis. Rumors in mass media about terrorists using steganography are revealed. The basic idea of steganography, its history and application on the Internet is considered. Classification and examples of available software are outlined. Main principles of steganalysis and detection of steganographic content are discussed. The modern Internet is becoming a more and more suitable environment for storage and the multi-user access to big volumes of data. Thus, digital steganographic techniques can be applied to hide sensitive data from undesired eyes. The basis of data hiding on the Internet is Steganography and accordingly Steganalysis. Steganographic systems can hide secret messages inside images or other digital objects on a local computer, LAN or the Internet. Secret messages remain invisible to a casual observer inspecting these files.

What is Steganography? Someone unfamiliar with this term, like a friend of mine, can ask – Maybe it is Stenography (shorthand notation) or a Stegosaurus (one of the most recognizable dinosaurs)? Certainly it is not. In fact, there are several different technical definitions of the term "Steganography". For instance, in April 2006, the US National Science and Technology Council released the “Federal Plan for Cyber Security and Information Assurance Research and Development”, which defines steganography as "the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message".

Generally speaking there are two main approaches to the information protection against the purposeful influence:

• Cryptography - literally means "secret writing"
• Steganography - literally means "covered writing"

• enable the participants to understand more about the basics of steganography and steganalysis
• describe the history of steganography, and identify the lessons of history suitable for the modern practice
• survey various available steganographic software and demonstrate their practical application on various examples
• provide the peculiarities of data hiding on the Internet and the basic approaches to further development

This tutorial:

• does not require any special knowledge and can be available for a wide range of WorldComp’10 participants.
• is intended for faculty, engineers, scientists, department managers and policy makers, and students who are interested in data hiding and investigation of hidden data.

Gevorg Margarov has obtained a Degree in Computer Engineering from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute (now State Engineering University of Armenia - SEUA) (Armenia) in 1976, Ph.D. in Organization of Structures and Computing Processes in Computers, Complexes and Systems from Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation (Russia) in 1983. Since 1976 he has been teaching at SEUA and State Institute of Skill Advance in Informatics (SISAI) (Armenia). 1988 - 2004 he was the Head of the Systemotechniques Department of SISAI. Since 2004 till now he has been holding the position of the head of Information Security and Software Development Department of the SEUA. The current research interests are in the fields of organization of computer systems, principles of the information security management and engineering, digital steganograpy, applied cryptography, e-Learning systems. Prof. Margarov has over 160 publications in these areas.

Professor Gevorg Margarov
Information Security and Software Development Department,
State Engineering University of Armenia,
105 Terian Street, Yerevan, Armenia, 0009
tel: + (374) 93 401895 fax: + (374) 10 544006
email: gmargarov@gmail.com
http://www.seua.am/eng/comp/depar1.htm#2