Published Paper Details:

Image steganography has recently received much attention as a form of secure communication whereby one or more hidden data are embedded into an image. Among the most widely used techniques for data hiding is the Least Significant Bit (LSB) method, where the least significant bits of pixel values are replaced with secret data. However, LSB based steganography often results in visible distortions that can be detected easily. This paper proposes an improved method that utilizes image balancing methods prior to data embedding to reduce such distortions. The method consists of preprocessing the image to balance its brightness, contrast, and colour balance in such a manner that the hidden data will not significantly alter the visual look of the image. The secret data is then embedded into the least significant bits of the balanced image. Experimental results have shown The proposed method successfully conceals data and keeps the quality of the cover image intact. Besides, extraction of the hidden information is carried out with less error rate, indicating the success of the proposed method in both security and visual integrity. This approach is tested through the usage of image quality metrics and accuracy of data extraction that makes it a good approach for practical use in secure communication.