Cryptography vs Steganography

Steganography, often known as cover writing, is a technique for transforming a secret process into a fake-looking message. This strategy helps to keep a message secret. It is difficult to use and understand. Steganography does not alter the data structure. It can be used for text, audio, video, or images.

Cryptography, often known as secret writing, is a technique in which a secret process is encoded in cipher text and transmitted to another person, who then decrypts the cipher text into plain language. Cryptography can be characterised as symmetric or asymmetric.

Read this chapter to understand more about the differences between steganography and cryptography.

What is Steganography?

Steganography is a method of concealing information within other data. Steganography is an encryption technology that, when used with cryptography, provides an additional layer of data security.

Steganography techniques can be used to encrypt photos, movies, and audio recordings. Steganography is typically written in characters with hash marks, but it is also commonly used in graphics. Steganography, in any case, safeguards protected materials from piracy while enabling unauthorised access.

Steganography, unlike encryption, was created to be inaccessible to unauthorised third parties. Not only must the sensitive content be discovered-a difficult effort in and of itself-but it must also be encrypted, which can be difficult.

Watermarking is a type of steganography in which copyright information is concealed within a watermark by overlaying files that are difficult to recognise with a human eye. This prevents fraud and provides an additional layer of security for copyrighted media.

According to circumstantial evidence, some suspect that the terrorists who planned and carried out the 9/11 attack in New York City used steganography. This was the first time the public learned about the science of stenography. Data can be stolen and encrypted via file transfers or, more typically, through email. Steganography can also be used for covert communications involving terrorist plots, as was suspected in the 9/11 case. The military has been using steganography for decades, however it is not computer-based.

What is Cryptography?

Cryptography is a method of creating codes, whether written or generated, that allow information keep private. Cryptography encodes data in an unreadable format for unauthorised users, allowing it to be sent without the risk of unauthorised entities decoding it back into a readable format.

Cryptography is used at several levels in information security. The data cannot be read without a key to decrypt it. During transit and storage, the information remains unchanged. Cryptography also helps to ensure nonrepudiation. This means that a message's sender and delivery can be verified. Cryptography uses key pairs to authenticate senders and receivers.

Difference between Steganography and Cryptography

The following table illustrates the key differences between Steganography and Cryptography −

Summary

The main difference between steganography and cryptography is that steganography maintains the structure of data, while cryptography does not. Steganography does not include numerous mathematical transformations, whereas cryptography does.