An efficient data hiding technique in image using binary Hamming code along with particle swarm optimisation

An effective spatial domain steganographic scheme is proposed in this paper. Particle swarm optimisation (PSO) can be used to identify the most efficient pixel position in the greyscale cover image, then secret information embedded using linear block code - binary Hamming code which enhances embedding efficiency. The visual quality of the stego image is the primary element taken into consideration in formulating the objective function of the PSO. The efficiency of the proposed method was analysed through measures like peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and structural similarity index (SSIM) to validate the visual quality of the image. Chi-square, histogram, and regular singular (RS) attacks are the steganalysis techniques used in this paper that confirm the security offered for the secret information. The results are compared with various standard spatial domain embedding techniques for hiding data; binary Hamming code along with PSO provides the best stego image quality and it can sustain various noises during the transmission. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.