A secure steganography technique using DCT and modified RC4

Abstract

This paper proposed a novel steganography algorithm, which has used sufficient number of highest DCT coefficients of cover image to hide the crucial information. Security has achieved by randomly updating the DCT coefficient values based on the key value given by the user. For generating random sequences from the given key, I have modified Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4) algorithm. The visual quality of the image after performing steganography is the main evaluation criteria and we have used Peak Signal to Noise Ratio(PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index(SSIM) between stego image and cover image to evaluate the performance of proposed algorithm. My proposed algorithms are tested with standard thirty images and the results shows a major advancement in this area.