21. Optimized Data Hiding for the Image Steganography Using HVS Characteristics

Steganography algorithms used to secure sensitive data on the Internet. It hides the secret data in the cover image and provides imperceptibility to the attacker. The least significant bit (LSB) is the most preferred data hiding technique in the steganography. In this technique, the least significant bit of the cover image pixel replaced with data bits. In the literature, the data hiding achieved without considering the human visual system (HVS) characteristics that degrade the visual quality of the image. In this paper, the optimized data hiding has done while considering the HVS characteristics. The colour image contains three planes known as the red–green–blue plane. The green plane is the most sensitive, and blue is less sensitive to the human eyes. Thus, in the proposed technique, the green plane used as a reference plane for data hiding in the red and blue planes. In the optimized data hiding technique, the secret data bits match with the cover pixel bits. If the bits match, then the corresponding optimal index determines, else data hiding done in the LSB bits of the cover pixel. After that, the optimal indexes hide in the cover image using a 2-bit LSB technique. In the proposed technique, image smooth and edge region characteristics explored before data hiding. There is a high correlation between the consecutive pixels in the smooth region and the minimum correlation on the edges. Thus, we have matched the secret data bits with the cover pixel bits in the smooth region and hide the optimal indexes on the edges. The experimental results performed on the standard dataset images downloaded from the USC-SIPI image database. The experimental results show that the proposed technique provides better visual quality as compared to the existing techniques.