A Dual Stage XOR Audio Steganography

Abstract

With the ever-increasing demand for global interconnectivity in digital communication, ensuring robust privacy and security during online information sharing has become paramount. However, existing methods such as cryptography and steganography have demonstrated limitations in effectively protecting data in transit. In response, this study proposes an innovative solution that merges AES cryptography and LSB.wav audio steganography using an XOR operation technique, addressing the weaknesses of each approach. The primary challenge of audio steganography lies in maintaining imperceptibility, as noticeable errors can arouse suspicion among involved parties. By integrating AES cryptography with audio steganography, the suggested solution offers a more resilient and secure approach to safeguarding sensitive information. Moreover, the proposed method exhibits remarkable performance, characterized by deep spatial analysis and high PSNR, MSE, and values, ensuring both audio fidelity and data concealment. This research aims to provide an enhanced privacy and security framework for online communication, facilitating private conversations, safeguarding confidential data, and effectively obfuscating information using audio files. Keywords: Steganography, AES, Cryptography, Security, Audio, WAV FILE, XOR.