What term describes the technique of embedding data within benign-looking files such as images and extracting it at the destination?

What term describes the technique of embedding data within benign-looking files such as images and extracting it at the destination?

• A. Obfuscation
• B. Cryptography
• C. Steganography
• D. Data masking

Answer: (C)

Steganography is the technique of hiding a secret payload inside ordinary-looking files, such as images, so that the presence of the data remains concealed. The data is embedded in the carrier file in a way that doesn’t noticeably alter the file’s appearance or behavior, and a corresponding extraction process at the destination retrieves the hidden information. A common example is placing bits of a message into the least-significant bits of image pixels, which can preserve the visual quality while carrying the hidden data. This differs from obfuscation, which merely makes content harder to understand but doesn’t conceal the existence of a message within another file. Cryptography protects the contents of data through encryption, but the encrypted data still sits as recognizable data where its presence is obvious. Data masking hides sensitive values within data sets, not by embedding one file inside another.

Steganography is the technique of hiding a secret payload inside ordinary-looking files, such as images, so that the presence of the data remains concealed. The data is embedded in the carrier file in a way that doesn’t noticeably alter the file’s appearance or behavior, and a corresponding extraction process at the destination retrieves the hidden information. A common example is placing bits of a message into the least-significant bits of image pixels, which can preserve the visual quality while carrying the hidden data.

This differs from obfuscation, which merely makes content harder to understand but doesn’t conceal the existence of a message within another file. Cryptography protects the contents of data through encryption, but the encrypted data still sits as recognizable data where its presence is obvious. Data masking hides sensitive values within data sets, not by embedding one file inside another.