Steganography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Steganography - Research Paper ExampleThe modern era of steganography is witnessed with the using of digital techniques in the ripe 20th century. Finally, the digital era of steganography is demonstrated to have greatly expanded the reach and complexity of these practices through visual, audio, and programming techniques. remit of Contents Introduction....4 Background....4 Modern Incarnations9 Concerns with Terrorist....10 Miscellaneous Uses12 Conclusion13 References.14 Introduction Steganography is the art and science of constructing secret messages in a way that nobody but the sender and receiver can sense its existence. While steganography was implemented to crucial importance in the 20th century, particularly in World War II, the process itself has been in practice since antiquity. Still, it wasnt until the Renaissance period when steganography became a recognized term. In 1499 Johannes Trithemius wrote Stegnographia the art through which writing is hidden requiring recovery by the minds of men, a treatise on cryptogram and steganography that was disguised as a book on magic (Sing, p. 10). Stenography takes on a manakin of forms. Most prominently perhaps are forms of steganography that transfer one form of text to a cover-text. Still, steganography also includes messages that are transferred to images, articles, or even invisible ink. Steganography has a great deal been confused with cryptography. The difference between these two forms, however, is that steganography is the concealment of a message, whereas cryptography is the writing of a message into code (Murphy, p. iv). The obvious advantage of steganography over cryptography is that the latter, because of its eccentric style, draws attention to its existence conversely steganography is a more subtle form of communication. Steganography is an expansive discipline that throughout history has made a bulky impact on the world. This research essay examines the history of steganography, its various u ses and dimensions, and a variety of ways that it has been enhanced over the years. Background As noted the early use of the term steganography was implemented by Johannes Trithemius. Trithemius was a German Abbot who lived between 1462 and 1516. His text Stegnographia the art through which writing is hidden requiring recovery by the minds of men was a three part tome. The first two parts are today recognized as some of the earliest books written on cryptography. The third part is ostensibly a book written on occult astrology. This third book contains a number of obscure tables containing numbers. In the late 20th century two researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Thomas Ernst and Jim Reeds became convinced that these tables of numbers were actually secret code. They began researching the text and uncovered a number of hidden phrases.