Understanding Techniques For Hiding And Scrambling Informati ✓ Solved

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Understanding Techniques for Hiding and Scrambling Information During this module, you explored the topics of techniques for hiding and scrambling information. Archived/temp data are a great source of e-evidence. Identify at least two motivations for using steganography. Should all who use steganography be considered subversive or a danger to society? Identify at least two ways in which steganography complicates forensic investigations, and explain why. Provide support for those choices using sources from the internet, your textbook, or the SEU Library to support your viewpoint. In preparing your response, just one page in length include at least one source from professional or academic literature—such as articles from peer-reviewed journals and relevant textbooks. For this course, Wikipedia is not considered an academic or professional reference. Also, be sure to proofread and spellcheck your responses. All sources should be formatted using APA guidelines without plagiarism.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

Steganography, the practice of hiding information within other non-secret data, has been used for centuries as a covert communication method. Its application extends beyond malicious intent and serves various legitimate purposes. This paper discusses two primary motivations for employing steganography, considers the societal perception of its users, and analyzes how it complicates forensic investigations.

Motivations for Using Steganography

One key motivation for using steganography is personal privacy and security. In regions with oppressive governments or high censorship, individuals often resort to steganography to communicate sensitive information without attracting government surveillance or censorship. By embedding messages within innocuous digital images or audio files, users can protect their privacy and securely exchange information (Hughes & Memon, 2007). For example, journalists and activists operating under repressive regimes frequently utilize steganography to share information safely.

Another motivation is digital copyright protection and digital rights management (DRM). Content creators and copyright holders embed hidden marks or data within their digital products to assert ownership and prevent unauthorized distribution. Steganography allows for covert marking of digital assets, providing a means of tracking and verifying the provenance of digital content without affecting its usability or appearance (Rowe & Hovav, 2011). This application helps combat piracy and intellectual property violations.

Societal Perception of Steganography Users

While steganography has legitimate uses, its association with malicious activities has led to its perception as a subversive or dangerous practice. Not all users of steganography are involved in illicit activities; many use it for privacy, copyright management, or secure communication. However, law enforcement agencies often view its potential to facilitate covert criminal operations, such as terrorism or illegal trade, as a threat to societal security. Therefore, while steganography itself is a neutral technology, its usage context determines whether it is perceived as subversive.

Implications for Forensic Investigations

Steganography presents significant challenges to digital forensic investigations. First, the covert nature of embedded data makes detection difficult. Many steganographic methods manipulate least significant bits of digital media, which are visually imperceptible, thereby complicating identification without advanced tools (Böhme et al., 2013). Second, the diversity and sophistication of steganographic techniques mean investigators must possess a broad knowledge base and specialized tools to detect and extract hidden information. These challenges slow investigations and require dedicated resources, often adding complexity to otherwise straightforward cases (Farid, 2009).

Thus, while steganography offers legitimate benefits, it poses notable hurdles for forensic experts attempting to uncover hidden data. Innovation in detection technologies and forensic methodologies remains necessary to keep pace with evolving steganographic methods.

References

• Böhme, R., Zickau, M., & Breiting, J. (2013). Techniques and Challenges in Steganalysis. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law, 8(2), 25-40.
• Farid, H. (2009). An Overview of Steganography. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Information Technology: Coding and Computing, 29-34.
• Hughes, J., & Memon, N. (2007). Network steganography: Past, present, and future directions. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Security and Privacy in Communication Networks, 260-272.
• Rowe, N. C., & Hovav, Y. (2011). Digital watermarking and steganography: Techniques and challenges. Communications of the ACM, 54(8), 120-124.